Musk urged humanity to strive for a hopeful future inspired by Star Trek, instead of allowing the grim scenarios of the Terminator movies. According to him, AI already surpasses most humans in capabilities, and within five years it will surpass the intellectual capacity of all humanity. He believes that the only safe path is to achieve a symbiosis between man and machine to ensure that AI will work for the benefit of humans.
In court, Musk attacked OpenAI, the company he co-founded in 2015. According to him, the project has deviated drastically from its original non-profit mission to create AI for the benefit of humanity and has focused entirely on commercial success. Musk said he was deeply disturbed after his conversations with Google co-founder Larry Page, whose utopian vision of AI, he said, completely ignored the serious risks facing the world.
OpenAI has vehemently denied the allegations, saying the lawsuit was driven by envy and regret over missed opportunities. “We’re here now because Mr. Musk is currently competing with OpenAI,” Bill Savitt, the company’s senior legal counsel, said during his opening statement. According to the defense, Musk’s actions were not a manifestation of concern for the public good, but an attempt to discredit a direct competitor.
