Despite the earlier warning for the dangers of Advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robotics, Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk has invested in various AI startups after a grim warning of Deepen‘s co-founder, Demis Hassabis.
What happened: In an interview with CNBC in July 2017, Musk had expressed concern about the existential risks of AI to human civilization in 2017. He had predicted important jobs disruptions, with transport rolls to the first that were fully automated.
Musk, at home in advanced AI, called for proactive regulations, warning that waiting for serious incidents, such as robot caused damage, would be too late to act effectively. “AI is a fundamental existential risk for human civilization,” warned Musk.
However, it is ironic because in 2017 Elon Musk was an investor at an early stage who pumped millions into different AI startups, such as DeepMind, OpenAi and Deputy.
A 2023 New York Times report It appears that Musk decided to invest in AI companies despite his reservations after DeepMind’s co-founder Hassabis told him in 2012 that Musk’s plans to colonize Mars would only work if “super intelligent machines” people would not follow on their journey to the planet.
According to the publication, “Mr. Musk was speechless” and invested next to DeepMind shortly thereafter Peter ThielTo be ‘closer’ with the progress of AI.
DeepMind was later taken over by Alphabet Inc. Goosen Googl Google In 2014 for $ 500 million, despite the fact that Musk made an attempt to buy it.
In 2014, Elon Musk told CNBC that his investments “are not from the position to actually try to achieve an investment efficiency. I just like to keep an eye on what is going on.”
He also stated that he was wary of a Terminator-like result.
Why it matters: Despite his warnings, Musk launched his own AI startup, Xaiand revealed his new chatbot, Grok, In March and November 2023, respectively.
In March 2025 he predicted in an interview that AI could surpass people in a decade. He also emphasized the potential for a higher standard of living due to AI, but warned of the risks.
Musk recently praised the VEO 3 AI video model from Google DeepMind and called it ‘great’. This tool generates high-resolution and realistic audio visuals, which demonstrates the rapid progress of AI technology.
Sam Altman of OpenAi, however, echoed the sentiment and thought it better to actively participate in the field instead of doing nothing.
“I sleep better knowing that I can now have some influence,” Altman said.
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Indemnification: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was assessed and published by Benzinga Editors.
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