Musk reflects: founding OpenAI to counter Google may have sped up AI instead

Elon Musk, founder of xAI, said in a recent interview that his efforts to slow down AI development may have backfired. He started OpenAI to compete with Google, which he says had a near-monopoly on AI at the time. But things didn't go as planned.

OpenAI became one of the most valuable AI companies, and Anthropic, which split from OpenAI, is now a leader too. Musk thinks these moves actually sped up AI, not slowed it down. He's also in a legal fight with OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman, seeking $150 billion in damages, though a court dismissed his lawsuit. He plans to appeal.

Musk praised Anthropic's CEO Dario Amodei as a principled person who cares about the future. Despite personal differences, Musk believes top AI companies should cooperate on safety, let rivals review new models, and watch each other. If risks aren't handled, he says, governments should step in.