Tesla Inc. CEO and xAI founder Elon Musk recalled how he holds former OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever in such high regard that he broke his friendship with Alphabet Inc.’s GOOG GOOGL co-founder Larry Page over it.
What Happened: Musk shared a cryptic post following the resignation of Sutskever, recalling his interaction on the Lex Fridman podcast.
Responding to a user, Musk agreed with what he said back then: “That really was the linchpin to OpenAI being successful.”
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Musk liked Sutskever so much, he was happy to sour his relationship with Page.
“That was a tough recruiting battle,” he said.
He was also all praise for Sutskever, calling him a “good human. He’s smart, with a good heart.”
Why It Matters: Musk’s post comes after a series of significant events at OpenAI, including Sutskever’s departure. Sutskever, a key member of the company’s founding team, revealed his decision to leave OpenAI after nearly a decade.
Despite this, he expressed confidence in the company’s ability to develop artificial general intelligence under the leadership of the current CEO, Sam Altman, and other executives.
Another factor that drove a wedge between Musk and Page’s friendship was a disagreement about the dangers of AI to humanity. Page accused Musk of loving humanity more than AI-powered digital life forms.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Photos courtesy: Shutterstock and Stanford