Elon Musk Admits Signing Open Letter On AI Limits 'Was Futile,' But He Just 'Wanted To Be On Record'

In March, Elon Musk gave a push to criticism surrounding OpenAI's AI-powered platform, ChatGPT, by signing an open letter that demanded a pause on training systems "more powerful" than GPT-4. However, the tech billionaire has now said that he just "wanted to be on record,” adding that he signed on to that letter “knowing it was futile.”

What Happened: During the weekend, after Musk's artificial intelligence enterprise, xAI, released its much-awaited and inaugural AI model, Grok, users started taking a potshot at the tech billionaire. 

One X (formerly Twitter) user took to the platform and referred to the "open letter," saying Musk was all up for supporting the contents of the letter at the time, but six months later, he introduced Grok. 

See Also: ‘Groking Will Become Like Googling’ – Elon Musk’s High Ambitions For xAI’s First AI Product Involves Making It A Verb

In response, the tech mogul said he signed the letter, knowing it was "futile." He simply wanted to be "on record as recommending a pause."

I signed on to that letter knowing it was futile. I just wanted to be on record as recommending a pause.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 5, 2023

This revelation has left many questioning the sincerity of his support for the cause.

The "open letter" in question was signed by more than 1000+ people, including Musk and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, arguing that a six-month pause was necessary until safety protocols were established and independently evaluated.

Notably, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, Musk's fellow member of the "PayPal Mafia," previously criticized him for his simultaneous efforts to hire an AI team and establish an AI initiative while endorsing the letter’s call for a pause.

Why It's Important: With Grok, Musk doesn't want to just compete with existing AI platforms like ChatGPT, Google Bard, and Microsoft's Bing AI but also make it synonymous with the act of using AI, similar to how we use the term "googling" for searching on the internet. 

Currently, Grok is available for limited users. Once it exits the early beta phase, Grok will become accessible to all X Premium Plus subscribers, making it a key feature of the newly introduced premium subscription level by X.

Musk has touted that Grok is different and far more advanced than existing models. "What will blow people away is how fast Grok improves vs other options," Musk said. 

Check out more of Benzinga's Consumer Tech coverage by following this link.

Read Next: Elon Musk’s Take On Biden’s AI Regulation, xAI’s First Model Launch, New Safety Institute And More: Weekly AI Roundup