Elon Musk is increasingly interested in artificial intelligence. What will TruthGPT look like, how should it stand out in the market, and does it have a future?
ChatGPT, an AI-powered chatbot, has made a splash on the Internet. Therefore, it didn’t take long for competitors to start presenting their own solutions. Google has already demonstrated Bard AI, and Microsoft has implemented Bing AI in its search engine based on Open AI solutions. The Redmond-based giant has invested billions of dollars in the development of Open AI and intends to implement (and is slowly implementing) similar technologies in its services. The world seems to have gone crazy with these AI algorithms.
Everyone wants to participate in this race, everyone wants to become part of the fashion trend, to be at the forefront of AI development. It is not surprising that Elon Musk is not standing aside and continues to work in this direction. He presented his new development and announced the introduction of TruthGPT. The billionaire emphasises that ChatGPT can be dangerous and misleading, so he wants to create a service that would generate more reliable and transparent information compared to competing solutions. This sounds ambitious and grandiose… as do most of Elon’s statements.
Read also: The best tools based on artificial intelligence
Elon Musk and artificial intelligence
Elon Musk is a billionaire, philanthropist and patron of the arts who is also known for his eccentric behaviour. On the one hand, he had very good projects. One of them was the Open AI company. Yes, the same company behind ChatGPT, but Musk sold it some time ago. That is, he has experience in developing artificial intelligence algorithms. Although, perhaps, he only sponsored the development. Anyway, he has some experience.
At the same time, Elon Musk has already become known for his sceptical views on artificial intelligence. The eccentric billionaire has serious concerns about the potential threats of artificial intelligence (AI) and its impact on society. Earlier, he warned that artificial intelligence could pose a threat to the existence of humanity if its development is not treated more responsibly. He therefore called for regulation and caution in its development.
Looking at the way Elon Musk reacts to artificial intelligence, it seems that we are witnessing it in all its glory. On the one hand, Open AI and ChatGPT became famous, but a few years after Musk lost the company, on the other hand, there is a desire to shine again and save the world. Even if the billionaire understands the problems, his recipe, unfortunately, is still empty words. However, Elon Musk himself wants to participate in the AI race because he understands its prospects and impact on the future development of the tech industry.
Genesis of the TruthGPT project
As I mentioned in the introduction, Elon Musk has announced plans to launch an artificial intelligence platform called TruthGPT. The billionaire intends to compete with Microsoft (Bing) and Google (Bard) solutions. Some time ago, Musk criticised the Redmond giant for supporting Open AI with billions of dollars. He also accused the company behind ChatGPT of prioritising the commercialisation of the service. Musk claimed that OpenAI “teaches artificial intelligence to lie” and stated that the company has become a “closed”, “commercial” organisation in a “close alliance with Microsoft”. It is worth adding that this criticism is also related to the fact that Musk was a co-founder of Open AI. He left it just before its commercial success after the fiasco with taking control of the company. This, of course, may influence the way he perceives the company’s activities.
Musk’s criticism also touches on Google co-founder Larry Page, whom he accuses of not paying enough attention to the security of artificial intelligence… and of wanting to create a digital god. All of these statements from the billionaire’s lips had to eventually lead to work on his own project. Rumour has it that Musk has long been looking for artificial intelligence specialists who worked for Google. The idea, of course, was to create an entity that could compete with Open AI.
TruthGPT is an artificial intelligence whose goal is… the truth
Musk recently proposed a new AI model called TruthGPT. According to him, it will be “artificial intelligence that seeks the truth as much as possible”. Musk argues that this approach would be safer than traditional AI models, which can prioritise other goals, potentially contradicting human values and interests.
“I’m going to launch what I call TruthGPT, which is an AI that seeks truth and tries to understand the nature of the universe.” Musk said in an interview with Tucker Carlson of Fox News.
During this interview, Musk also shared his opinion that artificial intelligence, which is interested in understanding the universe… does not seek to destroy humanity. Why? Because people are an interesting part of the universe. They understand the value of their existence and seek to protect their environment. He compared it to humans trying to protect chimpanzees. This is a rather controversial analogy, given what Elon Musk’s company Neuralink did when it tested its product on these animals.
Do you still remember Elon Musk’s monkeys playing ping-pong with the power of their minds thanks to implants? The experiment caused a lot of controversy, and the company had to justify itself for the violence against animals that had a hard time enduring the side effects – in many cases, they died in agony.
It should be noted that last month, Musk registered a company called X.AI Corp based in Nevada. The document listed Elon Musk as the sole director and Jared Birchall as the secretary. The registration came after Musk and a group of experts called for a six-month break in the development of models more powerful than the recently launched OpenAI GPT-4, citing possible risks to society. It can be assumed that such an appeal had a hidden agenda, probably the billionaire wanted to complete his own project in time to catch up with competitors.
Musk recently purchased 10,000 GPUs for Twitter, which are crucial for machine learning models. So you can see that work on the project is progressing. In addition, in early March, the eccentric billionaire hired specialist engineers Igor Babushkin and Manuel Cruz.
Read also: 7 coolest ways to use ChatGPT
Do we need TruthGPT – a security issue
Elon Musk considers security to be the main obstacle to the further development of artificial intelligence. In a recent interview with Fox News, the billionaire reiterated that: “Artificial intelligence is more dangerous than, say, poor design of aircraft or cars, or maintenance of production. It has the potential to destroy civilisation.”
The billionaire believes that artificial intelligence that is too good can potentially manipulate public opinion, thus leading to chaos in certain social groups. Sounds a bit like a sci-fi scenario… and maybe it’s just a tool to divert attention from the billionaire’s latest plan, which is to create super app X, which will undoubtedly have a lot in common with TruthGPT. Given the recent developments in the world of artificial intelligence, the fact that such a tool will be de facto controlled by one person with a large number of followers does not seem safe enough.
Read also: ChatGPT: Simple instructions for use
What will TruthGPT look like?
In his predictions, Elon Musk proclaims ambitious ideas, claiming that TruthGPT will be extremely secure and, above all, focused on the search for truth.
Users will be able to use two different modes: chat and Q&A, receiving transparent information on a given topic. Unlike collecting information from websites, TruthGPT always offers the user several options to choose from and gives their own answer based on factual data. The app will be available for free, but users can also expect a premium version for an additional fee. At least, that’s how it will look like according to reports circulating on the web. How it will work in practice and who will decide what is “true” and what is not remains to be seen.
How Musk is fascinating people again
“The Search for Truth. “Understanding the Universe”. We can nod our heads in appreciation, remembering the warnings of many people from the world of science who have been warning against the use of artificial intelligence for years. In the end, we will get into such philosophical topics and questions that we will fall into Musk’s trap: without saying anything new and specific, he has forced us to discuss, even though the texts he throws up are general. Just empty words. Still, we can admit that he is right, because it is hard to disagree that AI should be as “human” as possible.
This is not the first time Musk has done this. Before he bought Twitter, he said he was an “absolutist of freedom of speech”. Buying the social portal was supposed to be his salvation. Elon Musk was supposed to ride in on a white horse, defeat censorship and make Twitter an oasis of freedom. In fact, the social network was supposed to be just the beginning of the resumption of public debate. Nice slogans, but what happened?
The absence of censorship on Twitter quickly turned out to be just a facade, and bans began to pour in. Accounts of journalists from CNN, The New York Times and The Washington Post were banned because their owners dared to criticise Musk or publicly ask him uncomfortable questions. For example, those related to dismissals, violations of rules, or unpaid rent for the headquarters in San Francisco.
Since Elon Musk took over Twitter, dozens of changes have been made to the platform, which are literally the opposite of the service’s longstanding efforts to combat disinformation and the spread of fake news. From the dismissal of the moderator team, to the changes to Twitter Blue that buried the verified account system, to the algorithm’s preference for paid-for accounts, as well as individual politicians and Elon himself.
The notion that Elon Musk now cares about “truth” or “understanding the universe” seems not only grotesque, but also outrageous. Twitter has shown what “truth” looks like in Elon Musk’s mind – it is something that allows him to rule and work exclusively for his own interests.
Elon Musk knows he has lost
I console myself with the fact that Elon Musk will not bring about an artificial intelligence revolution. He will position himself as a person looking for an “alternative”, but in his situation, this is the best solution.
Artificial intelligence is a lifeline for Elon Musk, who can once again play the role of someone who protects us from evil and gets us out of trouble if necessary. After all, the warning signed by Musk and a group of scientists was already loud. It is significant that very soon rumours emerged that many recognised researchers and specialists knew nothing about the initiative, let alone participated in it.
I don’t think Musk cares about the future of science at all. Perhaps he was hurt that the company succeeded without him. The revolution, as the development of artificial intelligence is called today, is happening before our eyes, and he is largely a minor figure in this process. You may not like it, but Elon Musk is a great attention-getter. We can only hope that this time, few people will believe in his rescue plan.
Read also:
- What is CorePC – All about the new project from Microsoft
- All about the UFS 4.0 memory type: how it is better than previous versions