- Elon Musk testified AI poses existential threat or offers immense benefit.
- Musk seeks AI future akin to Star Trek, not Terminator.
- He alleges OpenAI abandoned non-profit mission for commercial goals.
Elon Musk took the witness stand in a California courtroom this week, warning that artificial intelligence could either become the most powerful tool humanity has ever had or its greatest threat. The Tesla and SpaceX chief, who is suing OpenAI, the company he helped co-found, told the court that AI development is moving rapidly and that the world needs to be careful about where it is headed. “It could kill us all,” Musk said while speaking about advanced AI systems in court.
What Did Elon Musk Say About AI During His OpenAI Testimony?
Musk said he wants the future of AI to look less like a science fiction disaster and more like a hopeful vision of progress. “We don’t want to have a Terminator outcome. We want to be in a Gene Roddenberry outcome, like Star Trek. Not so much a James Cameron movie like Terminator,” he said in court.
Musk is suing OpenAI, claiming the company moved away from its original non-profit mission of building AI for the benefit of humanity and shifted toward commercial success. OpenAI has rejected those claims.
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According to Musk, his concerns about AI go back to 2015, when he had a conversation with Google co-founder Larry Page. Musk said Page believed AI would create a kind of utopia, and that response worried him because he felt the risks were being ignored.
“The reason OpenAI exists is that Larry Page called me a ‘specieist,” Musk told the court, referring to a term used for someone who favours humans over future digital life forms.
He also repeated a long-held belief that AI may soon outperform humans in many areas. “That day is approaching fast,” he said. “I have extreme concerns about AI I have had concerns about AI for a very long time.”
How Does Neuralink Fit Into Musk’s AI Safety Argument?
During his testimony, Musk brought up Neuralink, his brain-chip company, saying one of its goals is AI safety. He suggested that a closer connection between humans and intelligent machines could create a better balance. “If we can achieve an AI-human symbiosis,” Musk said, “we can achieve an AI that is better for humanity.”
Musk’s legal team framed the lawsuit as a matter of principle, arguing that OpenAI was founded “for the benefit of all mankind” and later drifted from that purpose.
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OpenAI’s lawyers pushed back, telling the jury that Musk only began objecting after OpenAI found success with ChatGPT. The company argued that Musk is upset because OpenAI succeeded without him.
The trial has become one of the most high-profile tech legal battles in recent years, putting two of Silicon Valley’s most recognised names, Elon Musk and OpenAI chief Sam Altman, on opposite sides of the courtroom.
