The article reveals Elon Musk’s previously unreported attempt to acquire OpenAI in early 2023 and explores his complicated relationship with the AI company he co-founded. Musk approached OpenAI’s board members about merging the company with Twitter (now X) and taking control of the organization. This move came shortly after ChatGPT’s successful launch and amid Musk’s growing criticism of OpenAI’s direction. The article details how Musk, who helped establish OpenAI in 2015 as a nonprofit to counterbalance Google’s AI dominance, left the organization in 2018 due to conflicts of interest with Tesla and disagreements over OpenAI’s approach to AI safety. It highlights the transformation of OpenAI from a nonprofit to a “capped-profit” company after Musk’s departure, and his subsequent public criticism of the organization for straying from its original mission of developing safe AI for humanity’s benefit. The piece also discusses Musk’s current stance on AI development, including his founding of xAI and his calls for AI development pauses. The article emphasizes the irony in Musk’s position, as he criticizes OpenAI for being profit-driven while simultaneously attempting to acquire it, and highlights the ongoing tension between commercial success and AI safety concerns in the industry.
Source: https://time.com/7216469/elon-musk-buy-openai-sam-altman/