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Must We Musk to Understand the Universe?

Today Elon Musk announced the formation of xAI. “The goal of X.AI is to understand the true nature of the universe.” The company has set up a meet-and-greet of the new team during a Twitter Spaces chat on Friday, July 14.

I have been experimenting with ChatGPT and just upgraded to ChatGPT-4. I have been charmed by the speed in which answers are generated. Some results have been spot-on, while others have hit random, far-reaching bumps in the ether. My searches and requests haven’t been in the realm, however, where woke culture intercedes or pops up so I haven’t yet experienced the “destruction” of civilization that Musk has been warning about with unregulated AI that includes woke intrusions alongside blatant hallucinations.

To counter-act this culture Musk claims has invaded OpenAI (a company he co-founded), he and colleagues are pushing out a new company called xAI to rival—through truth-telling— OpenAI and other presumptuous AI companies. According to Reuters today, Musk registered a firm named X.AI Corp, incorporated in Nevada, in March of this year and made the public aware of the company today.

My questions then become “whose truth are we telling through AI” and “what truths will be told.” Back in 2019,  Elon Musk urged as the “utility function” of AI technology, “… a close coupling between collective human intelligence and digital intelligence”  to “maximize the freedom of action of humanity” (Elon Musk on Artificial Intelligence 2019). I really liked that idea back then when he said it and I still do now.

Perhaps, however, my idea of freedom of action is different than what Musk intended by his observation. I do believe, as Musk does, that “There is a risk that advanced AI either eliminates or constrains humanity’s growth.” I just think that setting up a company claiming to “tell the truth of reality” is already putting up another infused-with-bias edifice of error. [See footnote 1 below.]

I’m of the opinion that the AI cruise ship has sailed, we are all inside it as if on a big floating petri dish of humanity, and it will take all of us as we work through the ins and outs of AI to steer it. I agree with Mo Gawdat in the introduction of his book Scary Smart where he talks about the new superheroes for AI: “It is not the experts who have the capability to alleviate the threat facing humanity as a result of the emergence of superintelligence. No, it is you and I who have that power. More importantly, it is you and I who have that responsibility.”

We ALL have to step up to the plate and profess our truths about our universe and work WITH Musk and the other AI players, not be popcorn popping wilters on the sidelines.

FOOTNOTE 1: According to ChatGPT-3.5 (I used also ChatGPT-4, but liked this result 3.5 result better) the term “edifice of error” typically refers to a complex or elaborate structure built upon flawed or incorrect assumptions, beliefs, or principles. It suggests that the foundation or basis of the structure is flawed, leading to subsequent errors or falsehoods that are built upon it.

ADDENDUM FOR JULY 29: I’ve since signed the Pause Giant AI Experiments: An Open Letter so I can be in the loop (although this letter did come out a few months ago in March of this year). I’m now trying to find evidence of the work being done by those claiming to sit on the pause button. Musk certainly is not pausing within the A.I. industry, yet he is the third signature on the open letter.

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When AI “Gets” Teeth

Rushi Ganmukhi, founder and CEO of Bola joins Garrett Clark, Managing Director of Silicon Slopes, in a conversation about the use of AI on June 16, 2023.


I went to Lehi for a presentation on the use of AI in the dental industry. The presentation was by Rushi Ganmukhi, founder and CEO of Bola AI, who developed AI technology to optimize the dental visit workflow through improved efficiency and to enhance the patient experience.

Rushi comes from a product engineering background and found a niche market in dentistry. He thinks AI technology will spin off into many other types of niche markets. Rushi commented that “data is the new oil” and that the “speed of product development is going to be crazy in the next couple of years.” He said entrepreneurs need to have a crystal clear focus on customers and have a strategic vision. To stay ahead of the AI curve, he said to let engineers play around with the new AI technology, work with partners on new technology, and invest back into team.

Speaking of partners, Garrett and Rushi agreed that a Trojan Horse way into AI is through partnerships. I liked that comment and I need to figure out what my Trojan Horse is into AI. Garrett reiterated what was said the day before at the Silicon Slopes Summit—that those who will still have their jobs during this time through AI transitioning are those who can leverage AI.

I enjoyed seeing the conversation in person. If you choose to view the interview, make sure you listen for the dental puns Garrett drops along the way. These keep the conversation vibrant.

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Silicon Slopes AI Summit Hallmarks Industry Professionals

Tyler Folkman, Chief Technology Officer and Chief AI Officer from BENlabs, Branded Entertainment Network, speaks at the Silicon Slopes AI Summit June 15, 2023.

Every day I look at the headlines about AI and read up on the local, national and international discussions surrounding all its aspects such as machine learning, deep learning, neural networks, automation, robotics and so forth. I’m also on the email list for our local chapter of Silicon Slopes. I noticed the other day in one of the emails that an upcoming event was to feature AI professionals. I jumped at the chance to register and attend the summit.

The inaugural Silicon Slopes AI Summit June 15 featured Wayne Vought, UVU Provost; Sean Reyes, Utah Attorney General; Dave Wright, CEO and Founder of Pattern; Dr. Rachel Bi, Associate Professor, UVU; Tyler Folkman, Chief Technology Officer and Chief AI Officer at BENlabs; and James Thorton, Chairman and CEO of Tafi and Daz 3D.

I took several pictures of speaker slides, but the one I feature at the top of this blog explains the given—AI starts with data. This fact alone is the impetus of AI and also an important set-up point for other aspects of AI such as regulation, policy, truth sets, bias, trust, privacy and more.

Here are the items I want to remember from the summit:

  • Need clean data
  • Generative AI is the game changer in entertainment
  • Use AI to better engage with audiences
  • Act like AI is to scale you
  • Leverage AI to succeed
  • Apply AI to what you love
  • Limitless growth by correctly using AI
  • Layer on AI technology in various ways
  • Apply AI to what you love to do
  • AI changes the rules of the game
  • The art of asking the right questions is the art of AI
  • AI can free us from mundane tasks
  • AI is at the forefront of innovation
  • Be able to deliver properly curated AI to the rising generation
  • UAE takes AI seriously!

There also were several cautionary tales about AI development and its harming potential. Reyes said that we need to “get arms around this tornado.” He posed the question: “What do we do when other countries use AI unethically?” He said that AI technology has been and will be made disabling and disrupting because the technology can help recruit and indoctrinate. He invited us all to be actively engaged with policy makers as AI technology moves forward.

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Kicking the Educational Tires of ChatGPT

  • MIT Technology Review education issue graphic

I love to read magazines. When I want to find out the latest chit-chat on a subject of interest to me, I go browse and buy. I usually purchase when I’m at an airport or at Barnes and Noble. I’ve recently taken to explore the latest on AI in education, yet the online headlines keep moving the AI end zone with ever-increasing morsels of contradictory predictions.

I happen to be at Barnes and Noble earlier this month and had a wild-hair to purchase all of the magazines that featured AI. I wanted to find something positive about AI in classroom situations where fear mongers wouldn’t have the upper-hand on the tone of the articles. The May/June 2023 MIT Technology Review was among my pulled collection. The cover promised teachers who believed that AI could improve education.

Enter Will Douglas Heaven, senior editor for AI at MIT Technology Review and author of “The Education of ChatGPT.” Heaven quotes many teachers and educators who have found ways to utilize ChatGPT for student learning and even suggests that “banning them [chatbots] is futile, possibly even counterproductive.”

Heaven follows up this statement with a quote from Richard Culatta, CEO of the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) and a former colleague of mine from the early 2000s. “We need to be asking what we need to do to prepare young people—learners—for a future world that’s not far into the future.”

Bingo! Culatta hit the educational AI nail on the head for me. With all the doom and gloom swinging around about AI, there seems to be more sour soothsayers talking about the end of education than prescient prophets like Culatta who sense a beginning of “new” education that must innovatively prepare learners with knowledge and skill sets to navigate within the digital acceleration.

Granted, there is much to be done to figure out this future, but I’m with Heaven on this one to the positives of AI and with Culatta on prepping learners for the inevitable. Heaven ends with another quote from Culatta: “We have to withhold some of our quick judgment. That’s not helpful right now. We need to get comfortable kicking the tires on this thing.”

Excuse me for a moment. I’m pausing to go kick some tires.