Tesla and SpaceX bosses joined VivaTech attendees in a keynote presentation Friday with topics including AI and Twitter. That’s what he said.
Billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk welcomed a rockstar to the stage on the third day of VivaTech on Friday, to thunderous applause from the audience, chanting “We love you, Elon!” And even an attendee is waving a bouquet of flowers for her.
In what became somewhat of an endearment to Musk and the audience, the self-confessed introvert, who is the CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, Twitter and X.Corp, introduced the loving home crowd to a few words of French : “Jut alres” Good morning, Paris!”
Despite a particularly warm welcome on the outside, inside the Dom de Paris venue, Musk remains a divisive figure, seen by some as a disruptor who goes against the grain and takes risks in business and by others as a provocateur and a threat to democracy.
It’s little wonder that so many eyes were watching what he had to say as he attended a keynote address at one of Europe’s biggest tech and start-up fairs in Paris. But few will look more closely at what was not said during his hour-long appearance.
AI is still a concern for humanity
In keeping with the main talking point of this week’s fair, Artificial Intelligence (AI) was raised early in the discussion with moderator Maurice Levy, President of Publicis Groupe.
In April, the tech leader joined with Musk, an early investor in OpenAI, to put a stop to AI’s development. In an open letter, which was also signed by Apple’s Steve Wozniak,
“I really didn’t think anybody would actually agree to a pause,” Musk told the audience.
“I think there is a real danger of digital superintendence having negative consequences. So, if we are not careful with creating artificial general intelligence, we could have potentially disastrous consequences.
“We need to reduce the likelihood that something will go wrong with digital superintendence projects”.
He said he was in favor of AI regulation because “anything that is a risk to the public needs some sort of referee”.
His visit to Paris coincides with the passage of the draft EU AI Act by parliamentarians in Brussels. Musk wasn’t asked what he thought about it and didn’t offer an opinion, which is perhaps not surprising.
He and The Block have had a sour relationship of late because of their opposing stances on regulation when it comes to places like Twitter.
He later added that while he added that “AI was probably the most disruptive technology ever,” we were living in a most interesting era. “We are moving towards an era of abundance” because of technology, he said.
While the billionaire offered his opinion on AI and its potential pitfalls and benefits, he did not mention that he has reportedly founded a company called X.AI or what his plans are for it in light of his public stance on the transformative . technology.
direction of twitter
Naturally, one of the most curious topics under discussion was Musk’s acquisition of Twitter in late 2022.
One of the interesting claims Musk made was that because of the level of interaction he had with his 147 million-strong followers, he felt “practiced” about what was happening with the platform.
“Generally, I was concerned that Twitter was having a negative impact on decency; That it was having a corrosive effect on civil society. Anything that undermines civilization, I think is not good,” Musk told the audience.
Despite his support for regulation of AI because of the risks to humanity, he strongly opposes regulation of Twitter beyond the laws of individual countries because of its detrimental effect on freedom of expression.
In An interview with EuronewsNext At the World Economic Forum in January, the European Commission’s vice-president for values and transparency, Vera Jourova, said that “the time for the Wild West is over” in reference to what she characterized as “Mr Musk’s free speech absolutism”.
The clash with the European Union continues following Twitter’s decision in May to opt out of the bloc’s voluntary code of conduct against disinformation. EU leaders condemned the decisionJourova said that “Twitter has chosen a tough way to comply with our digital laws”.
As well as noting the highest times of usage, Musk said he was “optimistic about the future”, with advertisers having already decided to return to the platform or saying they would return.
Verdict on Tesla’s Latest Gigafactory
In their first exchange on stage, Levy indicated that Musk could make some kind of announcement if he felt inclined, but there was probably a sense of disappointment for some at the end of the event when there was not.
In one of the event’s many surreal moments where Musk and his fellow panelists danced together on stage and said goodbye, an eager audience member shouted “Factory for France!”
Speculation was rife earlier this week that Musk would in fact use his appearance at VivaTech to make an announcement about a planned second Tesla Gigafactory in Europe.
France, Spain and Italy are all jockeying to attract investment from Tesla to open new factories, with Musk fueling speculation this week with visits to Rome and Paris, where he will meet Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and French President Emmanuel Macron was mesmerized.
Competition is stiff to seal the deal with the tech magnate. Both the Netherlands and the UK were considered for the site of Tesla’s first European Gigafactory. Instead, the prize goes to Germany with the opening of the Giga Berlin plant in 2022.
Neuralink’s first human transplant in 2023
In response to a last question from the audience, which was probably one of his youngest French fans in the crowd, Musk confirmed that the first person to receive a neurological implant from his company, Neuralink, would be later this year.
Neuralink is working on a controversial implantable brain-computer interface that it believes will eventually help humans use the power of thought to communicate with and control machines.
Musk announced in late May that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had given the company the green light for its first human clinical trials.
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