John Isige
Elon Musk, Twitter’s CEO, financed the creation of ChaGPT, a sensational artificial intelligence chatbot in 2015. At the time, OpenAI, the company behind the language-based model designed to generate human-like text responses when prompted, was a non-profit organization.
Fast-forward to today, OpenAI, which changed its business model to a hybrid one with a cap on profit in 2019, boasts a private valuation of almost $30 billion—and Microsoft as a primary investor.
Tesla’s CEO in a tweet on Wednesday openly threw a jab at OpenAI seeking answers as to why a not-for-profit organization he helped to found with a $100 million donation, has transformed into a “for profit with a $30B market cap.”
I’m still confused as to how a non-profit to which I donated ~$100M somehow became a $30B market cap for-profit. If this is legal, why doesn’t everyone do it?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 15, 2023
Elon Musk Is Concerned About The Dangers Of AI
Besides questioning the legal framework around OpenAI’s massive valuation years after he founded the company, the Twitter CEO also has misgivings about artificial intelligence and the dangers around it – known and unknown.
Musk is not the only one concerned about AI and the dangers that could come with advancing technology. Max Tegmark, an AI expert tweeted on Wednesday, referring to the sudden global interest in the technology as “an unregulated race to the bottom” that is likely to “end badly for the human race.” The centibillionaire agreed with Tegmark.
In a tweet shared on February 17, Elon Musk explained that when he invested in the company, he did not have Microsoft in mind, but Google. He reckoned that with OpenAI’s artificial intelligence technology, the world could have a “non-profit company to serve as a counterweight to Google.”
Contrary to his expectations for OpenAI to remain open-source as created originally, it is now a business organization thriving to make maximum profits under the control of Microsoft.
OpenAI was created as an open source (which is why I named it “Open” AI), non-profit company to serve as a counterweight to Google, but now it has become a closed source, maximum-profit company effectively controlled by Microsoft.
Not what I intended at all.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 17, 2023
OpenAi was very clear with its mission and the organization it would like to grow into in its founding statement. If the firm stayed true to its original mission it would not have been on a quest to sign strategic partnerships with leading tech firms but focus on impacting the human race openly.
“Our goal is to advance digital intelligence in the way that is most likely to benefit humanity as a whole, unconstrained by a need to generate financial return. Since our research is free from financial obligations, we can better focus on a positive human impact,” OpenAI, then a non-profit stated.
Open AI Changed The Tune In 2018
According to Fortune, OpenAI started to digress from the original mission (non-profit) to building “systems that outperform humans at most economically valuable work,” in 2018, according to what the company wrote in a charter.
“OpenAI’s mission is to ensure that artificial general intelligence (AGI)—by which we mean highly autonomous systems that outperform humans at most economically valuable work—benefits all of humanity.” It added in the charter, “We are committed to providing public goods that help society navigate the path to AGI.”
The Race For AI Dominance Intensifies As OpenAI Releases GPT-4
The competition for dominance in artificial intelligence continues to catch momentum among key players like Microsoft (OpenAI), Google, and Meta. Earlier this week, OpenAI launched GPT4, an advanced version of ChatGPT.
Microsoft intends to integrate GPT4 into many of its software products, including old ones like Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Word to allow users to tap the power of artificial intelligence.
According to Microsoft, Copilots, its AI-powered assistants would soon be able to produce complete documents, write emails and create slide decks. Microsoft intends to roll out the new technology in the coming months, with testing already underway in 20 firms – eight of them are in the Fortune 500 bracket.
“This is the big next step for us — to put it in the tools everybody uses every day for their work,” Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s CEO said in an interview. With the new technology, people can create “great content, great documents, great PowerPoints, art,” he said, in addition to carrying out complex analysis while utilizing natural language queries.
In the meantime, Google announced several AI features for some of its products like Workspaces apps—including Docs and Gmail. On top of that, the leading search engine provider is revamping Bard, the go-to product to rival ChatGPT ahead of the full launch. Google employees will continue testing “Big Bard” a more advanced version, as reported by Insider.
Elon Musk appeared greatly concerned about his input in the creation of OpenAI during a Tesla investors day event in early March. He called for oversight on the “development” of AI to ensure it aligns with the interests of the public because it is a dangerous technology.
“I’m a little worried about the A.I. stuff. We need some kind of, like, regulatory authority or something overseeing A.I. development. Make sure it’s operating in the public interest. It’s quite dangerous technology. I fear I may have done some things to accelerate it.”
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This article was written for Business 2 Community by John Isige.
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