Musk's AI Company: Why He Distrusts Ultraman, According to His Autobiographer

In a recent interview, Walter Isaacson, the author of "Elon Musk: A Biography," revealed that Musk founded his own artificial intelligence (AI) company due to his distrust of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. To write Musk's biography, Isaacson spent two years shadowing him, observing his daily life while he led Tesla and acquired Twitter.

During the interview, Isaacson recalled a moment when Musk shared his vision for a new AI venture while relaxing by a pool in Austin. Musk expressed a desire to start fresh with an AI company, stating, “I want to build an AI company from scratch because I don’t trust Altman.”

Isaacson noted that Musk's childhood dreams and fascination with science fiction may have influenced his decision to establish xAI in 2023, which positions itself as a direct competitor to OpenAI. Although Musk initially helped create and fund OpenAI, he eventually departed due to differences in vision.

Isaacson referenced Musk's engaging with Isaac Asimov's works, particularly the "Robot" series, which led him to believe that robots could potentially betray humanity. Musk feels a responsibility to protect humanity from hostile AI and strives to make humans a multi-planetary species.

Altman has previously alluded to Musk’s self-perception as a "savior" of humanity, remarking, “Musk is eager for the world to be saved, and he believes he is the one to do it.” Their contentious history includes co-founding OpenAI in 2015, after which Musk stepped down from the board in 2018, criticizing the organization for its lack of transparency and commitment to safety.

The debate over whether Musk or Altman offers a safer approach to AI remains unresolved. Isaacson did not weigh in on the matter but noted that Musk advocates for diversifying AI development across multiple companies rather than concentrating it within a few. “Musk believes that having more companies develop AI creates a system of checks and balances,” Isaacson explained.