The AI mogul has warned the Tesla boss about abusing his power
The CEO of OpenAI warned that if Elon Musk’s position of power is abused, it would be ‘profoundly un-American’.
The Tesla boss has seen his circle of friends rise all the way up to the incoming First Family after backing Donald Trump in this year’s presidential election.
After celebrating Trump’s win at Mar-a-Lago last month, Musk was named as the head of the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) by the president-elect.
Elon Musk has a close friendship with Donald Trump (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
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While it is not officially a government department, under DOGE the billionaire will look at the federal budget.
And he’s already promised to slash government spending by trillions.
Along with conservative activist Vivek Ramaswamy, Musk has promised a complete overhaul and Trump has revealed that the department will help to ‘dismantle Government Bureaucracy’.
In a statement, Musk said: “This will send shockwaves through the system, and anyone involved in Government waste, which is a lot of people!”
On X, formerly Twitter, he went on to say: “Threat to democracy? Nope, threat to BUREAUCRACY!!!”
When announcing the new commission, Trump went on to say that DOGE will conduct a ‘complete financial and performance audit of the entire federal government, and making recommendations for drastic reforms’.
However, some other moguls in the tech world have shared their thoughts on Musk’s influence.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said using political power for personal gain is ‘un-American’ (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Speaking at The New York Times DealBook Summit, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said: “It would be profoundly un-American to use political power to the degree that Elon has it to hurt your competitors and advantage your own businesses.
“I don’t think people would tolerate that. I don’t think Elon would do it.”
It’s fair to say that the pair haven’t always seen eye-to-eye.
Both Altman and Musk founded OpenAI together back in 2015 but within three years this dissolved into rivalry when the SpaceX CEO left the company.
Musk has since been vocal about his criticisms of Altman and even sued OpenAI.
It is still unclear exactly what power and to what extent Musk will have as the new administration enters the White House in January.
It doesn’t look like DOGE will be a full-time gig for Musk as Trump has said that it will end on July 4 2026, on the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
The president-elect added that a more efficient government will be a ‘gift’ to the country on that day.
But despite this, Musk seems to have the trust of Trump, a friendship that could be concerning to his competitors.Featured Image Credit: Anna Moneymaker/Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Updated 16:48 14 Oct 2024 GMT+1Published 16:49 14 Oct 2024 GMT+1
‘I, Robot’ director calls out Elon Musk for using his designs in Tesla products
The director accused the Tesla boss of using his designs
The director of the movie I, Robot has called out Elon Musk for using his designs in the newly announced Tesla products.
The recent Tesla ‘We, Robot’ event caused a stir on social media after guests were met with a driverless Cybercab and AI robots.
Musk revealed that the fully autonomous vehicle will go into product in 2027 and is expected to cost less than $30,000.
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The Tesla robots were unveiled at the event (X/@Tesla)
It’s hoped that the car will be able to run as a taxi-service when its owner doesn’t need it and, in theory, the car could earn money working a night-shift while its owner is asleep.
The Optimus robot is planned to be a humanoid companion that assists with household chores, including walking the dog and retrieving parcels from the mail.
At the event, Musk said: “What can it do? It can be a teacher, babysit your kids, it can walk your dog, mow your lawn, get the groceries, just be your friend, serve drinks. Whatever you can think of, it will do.
“I think this will be the biggest product ever, of any kind. I think everyone is going to want their Optimus buddy, maybe two.”
While the new products have received a mixed reaction, one person in particular was very critical of the innovation, especially as he claimed that he originally thought of them.
There has been a lot of talk online about the similarities with the Cybercab and Tesla robots with fictional technology that featured in the 2004 movie, I, Robot.
Hey Elon, Can I have my designs back please? #ElonMusk #Elon_Musk
The director of the film, Alex Proyas, took to X, formerly Twitter to address Musk directly, writing: “Hey Elon, Can I have my designs back please?”
He accompanied the tweet with side-by-side comparison images.
Many people have taken to social media to share their own thoughts and reactions to the Tesla event.
Over on Reddit, one user shared that they had also noticed similarities to the sci-fi movie, writing: “This was my immediate thought when the van rolled out. It looked just like the robot transport that attacked Will Smith in the tunnel.”
Another said: “The movie will last longer than those robots.”
A third claimed: “All ‘his ideas’ come from sci-fi.”
It’s expected that the humanoid robots could be available to buy as early as next year but not everyone is as convinced of this timeline.
One person wrote: “LMAO the ones at the event weren’t even autonomous, they had humans operating them with a wireless control system. End of 2024 is hilarious!”Featured Image Credit: Jean Catuffe/GC Images/Getty Images/X/@Tesla
