Elon Musk has contacted AI researchers in recent weeks about developing an alternative to ChatGPT, the high-profile chatbot made 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 forming 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 keep tabs on AI development and served as its chairman until 2018 when he stepped down, amid concerns about a conflict of interest. Musk has cut ties with OpenAI.
It’s not like Musk lacks for things to do. He’s busy running businesses 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’s also overseeing the development of a humanoid robot.
The Information’s report comes as the race to expand the use of artificial intelligence shifts into high gear. OpenAI’s ChatGPT and competitors like Google’s Bard hold the potential to significantly transforming our online lives with by generating responses to emails, summarizing reports and answering our questions in a conversational and creative tone.
Musk and Babuschkin have discussed forming a team to pursue AI research, but the project is still in the early stages, and there are no material plans to develop specific products, The Information reported. Babuschkin also told the publication that he hasn’t officially joined the project.
Neither Musk nor Babuschkin could immediately be reached for comment.
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Steven Musil