Liberals are still in shock that Donald Trump actually won the presidential election. Despite their best efforts, Trump not only trounced their beloved Harris with the Electoral College, but also in the popular vote.
One of Trump’s biggest supporters during his campaign was Elon Musk. Indeed, the CEO of X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, has been firmly in Trump’s corner from the start of this race.
Now, an artificial intelligence (AI) advocacy group is calling on Trump to appoint Musk as a special adviser to the White House focused on AI. On Monday, Americans for Responsible Innovation (ARI) launched a petition to make this happen.
The group pointed out that Musk has struck a balance between ensuring AI is developed safely and advancing the emerging technology.
From Fox Business:
“As artificial intelligence races ahead, the U.S. should lead the world in advancing AI safely and securely,” the group said in its petition. “No one is better equipped to help the Trump Administration make America lead on AI than ElonMusk.“Musk has made major contributions to the field of AI both as an entrepreneur and as a thought leader. While advancing AI, he has also advocated for AI safety and the need to mitigate existential and catastrophic risks,” ARI’s petition added.
The petition also noted that Musk recently called for regulators to have insights into what Big Tech firms are doing on AI and added that while there should be “proper mechanisms in place to handle conflicts of interest, Musk would be an invaluable asset for helping the Trump administration navigate the development of this transformational technology.”
Musk’s History With AI
Through his work as the CEO of Tesla, Musk has a long history with AI. Last year, Musk also launched xAI, which is an AI-focused startup. On top of that, Musk has filed lawsuits against OpenAI alleging that the AI startup violated its original mission by switching to a for-profit arrangement.
Musk has additionally endorsed a California bill that would force AI developers who spend more than $100 million to build an AI model to implement safety testing as well.
“I do think that if Elon manages to get Trump’s ear on AI issues we’re more likely to get some form of safety standards, something that prevents AGI,” said Max Tegmark, a professor specializing in AI at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Tegmark went on to say that Musk “might help Trump understand that an AGI race is a suicide race.”
“I do think it’s not completely implausible he could persuade Trump that AI needs to be controlled.” he later added.
This comes after Trump said that he would repeal a Joe Biden administration executive order on AI safety. Trump described it as a set of restrictions that “imposes radical leftwing ideas on the development of this technology.”
When it comes to AI, we certainly appear to be living in the wild west. Indeed, this technology is developing faster than ever. That’s why it seems like Musk would be the perfect person to serve as Trump’s AI advisor. In the end, Musk is the right guy to ensure that this AI stuff doesn’t go too far!
Key Takeaways:
- Petition calls on Trump to make Musk his AI advisor.
- Musk has a long history with AI.
- Trump has pledged to repeal a Biden AI executive order.
Sources: Fox Business, The Guardian
