Print Print    Close Close

Elon Musk hints at lawsuit against AI giant OpenAI: 'Wait for it'

By Jeffrey Clark

Published April 18, 2023

Fox News
Elon Musk signs letter calling for pause of AI development
 Video

Billionaire and Twitter CEO Elon Musk appeared to suggest that would sue OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, in a viral tweet Tuesday. 

Musk was responding to a post from podcast host Benny Johnson that asked whether Musk would "sue Open AI for defrauding" him. 

"Wait for it …" Musk tweeted back, sparking speculation online that the billionaire would take a swing at OpenAI, an artificial intelligence powerhouse based out of San Francisco. 

ELON MUSK TO DEVELOP 'TRUTHGPT' AS HE WARNS ABOUT 'CIVILIZATIONAL DESTRUCTION' FROM AI

Elon Musk sits down with Tucker

Elon Musk discusses the dangers of AI in an interview with Fox News Tucker Carlson (Fox News)

The release of ChatGPT to the public has set off hundreds of news stories, with Google CEO Sundar Pichai claiming that the development of AI is "more profound" than the discovery of fire or electricity. 

Musk has been a vocal opponent of unregulated AI research. Recently, he gave an interview to Fox News host Tucker Carlson during which he warned that AI could cause "civilization destruction." 

"AI is more dangerous than, say, mismanaged aircraft design or production maintenance or bad car production," Musk said. "In the sense that it has the potential — however small one may regard that probability, but it is non-trivial — it has the potential of civilization destruction."

That warning follows closely on a letter that Musk and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, among others, released to caution the public about the advent of AI. 

ELON MUSK, APPLE CO-FOUNDER, OTHER TECH EXPERTS CALL FOR PAUSE ON 'GIANT AI EXPERIMENTS': 'DANGEROUS RACE'

The OpenAI logo on a laptop

The OpenAI logo on a laptop computer arranged in the Brooklyn borough of New York, US, on Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023. Microsoft Corp. is in discussions to invest as much as $10 billion in OpenAI, the creator of viral artificial intelligence bot ChatGPT, according to people familiar with its plans.  (Gabby Jones/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

"AI systems with human-competitive intelligence can pose profound risks to society and humanity, as shown by extensive research and acknowledged by top AI labs," the letter states. 

During a virtual appearance at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Thursday, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman addressed the Musk-backed letter directly.

"There's parts of the thrust that I really agree with," Altman said, adding that his team spent more than six months after completing the training of ChatGPT 4 to study safety components before it was released.

But Altman pushed back on the letter itself, saying that it wasn't the "optimal way" to address the issue.

Musk has also founded a new company called X.AI, according to a March 9 filing in Nevada. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Fox News' Adam Sabes contributed to this report.

Jeffrey Clark is an associate editor for Fox News Digital. He has previously served as a speechwriter for a cabinet secretary and as a Fulbright teacher in South Korea. Jeffrey graduated from the University of Iowa in 2019 with a degree in English and History. 

Story tips can be sent to jeffrey.clark@fox.com.

Print Print    Close Close

URL

https://www.foxnews.com/media/elon-musk-hints-at-lawsuit-against-ai-giant-wait-for-it

  • Home
  • Video
  • Politics
  • U.S.
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment
  • Tech
  • Science
  • Health
  • Travel
  • Lifestyle
  • World
  • Sports
  • Weather
  • Privacy
  • Terms

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. © FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper.Do Not Sell my Personal Information - New Terms of Use - FAQ