OpenAI's ChatGPT, Google Gemini can end civilisation, says Elon Musk

Elon Musk says that ChatGPT is "too woke" and Google Gemini and ChatGPT can end the civilisation

Elon Musk, founder and CEO of X (formerly Twitter), said that ChatGPT is "too woke" and its capabilities are "concerning".

Responding to a user on X, who was talking about a TED talk video by National Public Radio (NPR) CEO and president Katherine Maher discussing that truth is subjective, Musk said, "This is why I refer to it as the granddaddy of all parasitic idea pathogens."

Musk wrote on X, "Now imagine if this is programmed, explicitly or implicitly, into super powerful AI – it could end civilisation. Now, no need to imagine. It is already programmed into Google Gemini and OpenAI ChatGPT."

Musk has warned people about AI's negative impact in the past. He had also signed a letter, along with other tech experts, asking for a pause in AI development for six months, according to a report in India Today.

India Today reported that despite Musk's repeated warnings about the dangers of AI, he has been involved in the technology for a long time. In 2015, Musk became a founding member of OpenAI alongside Sam Altman and others when the organisation operated as a non-profit entity. Musk left the company in 2018 due to a "conflict of interest" arising from his other companies' involvement in AI technologies.

However, a blog post by OpenAI stated that Musk's departure was motivated by his desire for complete control over the organisation, even proposing its merger with Tesla at one point.

The India Today report said that in December last year, Musk introduced his own AI chatbot, GrokAI, to the public. Accessible to X Premium and Premium+ users, the chatbot was labelled to possess a "sense of humor" upon its debut. Marketed as an AI assistant, Grok AI was designed to provide answers with "wit and also has a rebellious streak."

According to the India Today report, executives from xAI, an artificial intelligence company owned by Musk, said that "those who lack a sense of humour shouldn't use GrokAI." The team's post on X read, "Grok is an AI modelled after the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, so intended to answer almost anything and, far harder, even suggest what questions to ask. Grok is designed to answer questions with a bit of wit and has a rebellious streak, so please don't use it if you hate humour."