Elon Musk is back in the news. (Really, does he ever leave the news?) Last week, Musk announced a new artificial intelligence company called xAI. The timing of the launch is odd considering Musk is still using Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink, Boring Company, and Twitter. Twitter in particular is causing him headaches, both with its declining business and increased competition from rivals like Meta’s Threads. All of these developments are happening in the shadow of what feels like a lazy subplot on a bad sitcom — a proposed mixed martial arts cage match between Musk and his rival, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
This week, we talk to WIRED Editor Steven Levy about the launch of xAI and its stated goal to “understand the true nature of the universe.” We also discuss where generative artificial intelligence has yet to venture and how xAI could have an impact in the field of deep learning. And of course, we’re talking about that cage match. Yes.
Show Notes
Read Steven’s Clear text newsletter, in which he urges Mark Zuckerberg not to take the bait. Will Knight outlines xAI’s biggest challenges. Amanda Hoover writes about Threads’ threat to the Twitter domain. Paresh Dave provides an update on AI regulation in Europe and the United States. Read all of our coverage on Generative AI.
Recommendations
Steven recommends Oppenheimer. Lawrence too. (We discuss this without spoiling it.) Mike recommends pretzel bunsbecause it’s not summer without them.
Steven Levy can be found on Twitter @StevenLevy. Lauren Goode is @Lauren Goode. Michael Calore is @snack. Bling the main hotline at @Gadget Lab. The show is produced by Boone Ashworth (@booneashworth). Our theme music is Sun keys.
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