X and Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently announced that he had established a new AI company called xAI, in an aim to “understand the true nature of the universe” and make an impact in the trending GenAI space. Musk stated during a Spaces session that “from an AI safety standpoint … a maximally curious AI, one that is trying to understand the universe, is I think going to be pro-humanity”, according to The Guardian.

The tech leader had served as a signatory for an open letter earlier this year calling for ceasing of AI development for six months, citing concerns over the technology’s safety. Following this and the announcement of xAI’s launch though, Musk said: “If I could press pause on AI or really advanced AI digital superintelligence I would. It doesn’t seem like that is realistic so xAI is essentially going to build an AI … in a good way, sort of hopefully.”

In 2014, Musk had warned of AI becoming “seriously dangerous”, “in the five-year time-frame. Ten years at most.”