Elon Musk has been reaching out to AI researchers in recent weeks about developing an alternative to ChatGPT, the high-profile chatbot created by OpenAI, The Information reported Monday.
The billionaire tech entrepreneur has approached Igor Babuschkin, an AI researcher who previously worked on Alphabet’s DeepMind AI, about setting up a research lab, The Information reported, citing people with direct knowledge of the effort.
Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015 with Sam Altman, president of startup accelerator Y Combinator, to oversee the development of AI and served as chairman until 2018, when he stepped down amid conflict of interest concerns. Musk has cut ties with OpenAI.
It’s not like Musk lacks things to do. He is busy running companies including Tesla, the maker of electric cars; Twitter, the social media service; and SpaceX, the rocket maker and satellite internet service provider. Through Tesla, he also oversees the development of a humanoid robot.
The report of the information comes as the race to expand the use of artificial intelligence shifts into high gear. OpenAI’s ChatGPT and competitors like Google’s Bard have the potential to significantly transform our online lives by generating responses to emails, summarizing reports, and answering our questions in a conversational and creative tone.
Musk and Babuschkin have talked about forming a team to continue AI research, but the project is still in its early stages and there are no material plans to develop specific products, The Information reported. Babuschkin also told the publication that he has not officially joined the project.
Neither Musk nor Babuschkin were immediately available for comment.
Editor’s note: CNET uses an AI engine to create a number of personal financial statements that are edited and fact-checked by our editors. For more, see this post.
Leave a Reply