Benzinga - The Biden administration, led by Vice President Kamala Harris, held a meeting with CEOs of four U.S. companies spearheading the artificial intelligence innovation on Thursday. President Joe Biden also dropped by the meeting, a release from the White House said.
One of Elon Musk's followers lamented the Tesla CEO’s exclusion at the meeting but the billionaire entrepreneur had a calm response.
What Happened: The Twitter handle @teslaownersSV retweeted Biden's tweet on the meeting, in which the President said, "Artificial intelligence is one of the most powerful tools of our time, but to seize its opportunities, we must first mitigate its risks."
@teslaownersSV commented that this was "another important meeting that should have included Elon Musk."
Responding to the tweet, Musk said, "I will survive."
I will survive— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 5, 2023
Right Step: Musk, however, lauded the White House’s initiatives to make AI safer. Replying to a tweet on a White House release about the government’s steps to further promote responsible innovation in AI and protect people's rights and safety, Musk said it is “a step in the right direction.”
It's a step in the right direction— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 5, 2023
Why It's Important: The Biden administration may have recently enlisted Tesla's support for the EV charging infrastructure in the U.S. But it has had a history of leaving Tesla and Musk out of all official discussions.
Instead, Biden holds aloft General Motors and Mary Barra as the torchbearers of the EV revolution that is taking hold in the U.S. Musk was ignored for an EV summit hosted by the White House in August 2021, with the government later implying that the sub may have to do with a lack of unionization at Tesla.
In November 2021, Biden was seen praising General Motors and Ford in a video, stating that Detroit is leading the world in EVs.
In January 2022, Biden appeared in a video along with Barra and said GM and Ford are building more EVs at home than ever before. Musk replied it is a company that "starts with T, ends with an A, ESL in the middle."
Musk for his part has storied AI credentials. His Tesla venture uses AI extensively and he was a co-founder at OpenAI, the company which has deepened its strategic partnership with Microsoft, pushing the software giant to the forefront of the AI revolution. The billionaire has also registered a firm called X.AI in Nevada recently, potentially to set up a pureplay EV venture.
That said, Musk has been recently raising his voice against the perils of AI if it were to let to grow unhindered.
Those who attended the meeting on Thursday included OpenAI's Sam Altman, Microsoft's Satya Nadella, Alphabet, Inc.'s Sundar Pichai, and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei.
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