In April, Elon Musk announced that he was working on a project to create a maximum truth-seeking AI to compete with ChatGPT and gain a deeper understanding of the universe.
Today, Musk has revealed the name of this new AI venture: xAI. The company’s simple landing page reiterates its goal of comprehending the universe and lists 11 AI researchers, predominantly men, who have made significant contributions to the AI field at companies like Google, DeepMind, and OpenAI.
Linxi “Jim” Fan, an AI researcher at Nvidia, claims that the team is an “all-star founding team.” In a LinkedIn post, he states, “I’m really impressed by the talent density—read too many papers by them to count.”
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Greg Wang, one of the company’s cofounders, tweeted that xAI aims to develop a mathematical “theory of everything” for large neural networks, pushing AI to the next level. He believes that this AI will help people understand the mathematical universe to an extent previously unimaginable.
Similar to other new AI projects, Musk’s motivation for xAI is driven by concerns about the rapid ascent of ChatGPT. He has criticized OpenAI, the startup behind ChatGPT, for being secretive and too closely aligned with Microsoft, its backer. Musk’s history with OpenAI adds to his dissatisfaction, as he co-founded the organization but later severed ties due to reportedly not having full control.
Musk has recently raised concerns about the existential threat that AI may pose to humanity and its potential to entrench the power of tech giants like Microsoft and Google.
Musk’s ambitious goals for xAI, challenging existing AI giants and safeguarding humanity from harmful AI, make his new AI company appear small in comparison. Many AI researchers who share his concerns believe that addressing this issue requires greater transparency and collaboration rather than relying on a lone genius with a small team of all-stars.