Musk's recent acquisition of Twitter, despite being criticized as a financial failure, is seen by Isaacson as a goldmine of user data that could be used to train a powerful AI system. Similarly, Tesla's Autopilot and Full-Self Driving systems collect an estimated 160 billion camera image frames per day, which could potentially be used to power AI for physical robots. Musk's new venture, xAI, is reportedly focused on "AI safety" and aims to create an AI capable of generating computer code and a "politically neutral" chatbot competitor to ChatGPT.
Key takeaways:
- Elon Musk's seemingly erratic behavior and missteps at Twitter and Tesla are part of his master plan to create a powerful, general artificial intelligence, according to a Time Magazine profile by Walter Isaacson.
- Musk's new venture, xAI, is focused on 'AI safety' and is working on creating an AI capable of generating computer code and a 'politically neutral' chatbot competitor to ChatGPT.
- Musk's acquisition of Twitter and the data from Tesla's Full Self-Driving system could potentially serve as the fuel to train a powerful AI system.
- Isaacson's upcoming book-length biography of Musk is expected to portray the billionaire as a misunderstood, quirky genius, pushing back against the narrative of Musk as a bumbling, at times bigoted, billionaire.