The scrolls, known as the Herculaneum Papyri, were discovered in the 18th century and have been unreadable due to damage from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. The project aims to read 90% of all four scanned scrolls in 2024, and eventually all 800 discovered scrolls. Musk, who also oversees AI company xAI, expressed his support for "civilizational enlightenment". xAI is currently in talks to raise $6 billion in funding at a proposed valuation of $20 billion.
Key takeaways:
- Elon Musk has offered financial support through the Musk Foundation to a project that aims to use artificial intelligence to read ancient Roman scrolls damaged by a volcano eruption nearly 2,000 years ago.
- The project, known as the Vesuvius Challenge, has previously awarded $700,000 to a team that managed to read a portion of one scroll using computer vision and machine learning.
- The project expects to spend $2 million in the next step of its effort to read entire scrolls and as much as $10 million to read every scroll that has been uncovered so far from the site.
- Musk's AI company, xAI, which was formed in July, is reportedly in talks with investors worldwide, aiming to raise $6 billion in funding at a proposed valuation of $20 billion.