Elon Musk is back at it again. After some rumored rocky exits, he’s unveiled his latest brainchild: xAI, a company whose mission is nothing short of “understanding reality.” We’re not entirely sure what that means, but let’s roll with it.
In a tweet that set the bar for understatement, Musk introduced xAI and its grand ambition. “Announcing formation of @xAI to understand reality,” Musk posted earlier this summer, announcing the firm.
The website, unfortunately, didn’t shed much light on the matter, offering cryptic statements about unraveling the universe’s true nature. “Today we announce the formation of xAI,” reads xAI’s landing page. “The goal of xAI is to understand the true nature of the universe.”
The team, though, is nothing to scoff at. DeepMind, Google Research, Microsoft, and other big names in AI are on board. They’re quick to clarify that they’re a separate entity from “X Corp” (formerly Twitter, Inc.), but they’re cozying up to Musk’s other ventures like Tesla and Twitter.
The inaugural tweet from the official xAI account posed some deep, existential questions. Musk, channeling his inner philosopher, responded with a mind-bender of his own. And of course, he threw in a nod to Douglas Adams and the mystical number 42 for good measure.
Image Credit: Pickpik.com
“And what are the most fundamental unknown questions?” the billionaire woolgathered. “Once you know the right question to ask, the answer is often the easy part, as my hero, Douglas Adams, would say.”
Musk closed the tweet with a screenshot showing that the numbers that make up the endeavor’s launch date, 7-12-23, add up to the number 42— a reference to the Adams’ cult classic novel, “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.”
Image Credit: rawpixel
In Musk’s defense, he did mention creating a “maximum truth-seeking AI” earlier this year. So, the launch of xAI, with all its reality-cracking aspirations, isn’t entirely out of left field.
According to Musk, an AI that’s into universe exploration probably won’t wipe out humanity, because, well, we’re interesting cosmic creatures.
This project has “Elon Smokes” meme vibes all over it, but with a team of bright minds on board, who knows?
Maybe they’ll crack reality wide open. Or whatever they’re up to.
We’ll be here, eagerly awaiting the grand reveal of the universe’s biggest secrets.