Elon Musk Launches Artificial Intelligence Company xAI: What to Know – CNET [CNET]

View Article on CNET

The company’s goal is to “understand the true nature of the universe,” but there’s little info on what it’ll actually do.

corinne-reichert-headshot
corinne-reichert-headshot
Corinne Reichert Senior Writer

Corinne Reichert (she/her) grew up in Sydney, Australia and moved to California in 2019. She holds degrees in law and communications, and currently oversees the CNET breaking news desk for the West Coast. Corinne covers everything from phones, social media and security to movies, politics, 5G and pop culture. In her spare time, she watches soccer games, F1 races and Disney movies.

Twitter owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has announced a new artificial intelligence company, xAI. The launch comes after Musk earlier this year filed to incorporate an AI company amid reports he’s planning to create a ChatGPT rival.

“Announcing formation of @xAI to understand reality,” Musk tweeted Wednesday. The xAI website adds that the company’s goal is to “understand the true nature of the universe.”

xAI has tweeted only once so far, to ask: “What are the most fundamental unanswered questions?” 

A team of 12 people, including Musk, was announced as working for xAI. All men, xAI says they have experience across OpenAI, DeepMind, Google Research, Microsoft Research and Tesla. It’s also being advised by Dan Hendrycks, the director of the nonprofit Center for AI Safety

The xAI team will be hosting a Twitter Spaces chat on Friday, July 14, where they might talk about what exactly the company will actually do.

Since the arrival of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in late 2022, major tech companies have released generative AI tools to the masses. OpenAI’s GPT-4 launched in mid-March. It’s the latest version of the large language model that powers the ChatGPT AI chatbot, which among other things is advanced enough to pass the bar exam. In February, Microsoft entered the AI chatbot realm with Bing, which makes use of ChatGPT, and rival Google eventually followed with AI Bard. Chinese giant Alibaba also unveiled a ChatGPT rival with both Chinese and English capabilities.

CNET has broken down ChatGPT as well as Bing and Google Bard to work out which is the most helpful.

230501-yt-vs-chatgpt-bard-bing-v04

Watch this: Comparing Bing Chat, Bard Chat and ChatGPT

Despite announcing his own AI company, Musk was among more than 1,000 tech folks who signed an open letter in March urging labs to take at least a six-month pause in AI development due to “profound risks” to society from increasingly capable AI engines. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis, along with other scientists and notable figures, also signed a statement warning of the risks of AI in June. And Microsoft in May released a 40-page report saying AI regulation is needed to stay ahead of potential risks and bad actors.

Editors’ note: CNET is using an AI engine to help create some stories. For more, see this post.

Computing Guides

Laptops

Desktops & Monitors

Computer Accessories

Photography

Tablets & E-Readers

3D Printers