Tech Rivals Musk And Zuckerberg Forge Alliance At Capitol Hill Meeting On AI Regulatory Matters

At a meeting on Capitol Hill, Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk and Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg, along with other industry leaders, discussed the need for AI regulation in the U.S., setting aside their rivalry for this crucial conversation.

What Happened: On Wednesday, Musk, Zuckerberg, and Alphabet Inc.’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) CEO Sundar Pichai, along with other prominent CEOs, met with more than 60 senators at a meeting held on Capital Hill. 

Reuters reported that the agenda behind this meeting was to address the growing consensus on the necessity of government intervention in the rapidly advancing field of AI.

See Also: Elon Musk, AI Savior Or Self-Appointed Messiah? What Reid Hoffman, Sam Altman Really Think

During the meeting, Musk highlighted the urgency of the situation, stating, “It’s important for us to have a referee,” and stressed the need for a regulatory body to ensure that AI companies prioritize public safety.

Zuckerberg echoed Musk’s sentiments, saying that the government’s responsibility in balancing innovation and safeguards is pivotal. He asserted that American companies should lead in shaping AI models on critical issues. 

He said it was “better that the standard is set by American companies that can work with our government to shape these models on important issues.”

Senator Chuck Schumer, who organized the forum, acknowledged that there is still much work to be done and emphasized the need for swift action, particularly regarding the threat of deep fakes in the upcoming 2024 U.S. general election, the report noted. 

Previously, Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google and co-founder of Schmidt Futures, said, “The 2024 elections are going to be a mess because social media is not protecting us from false generated AI.”

Why It’s Important: AI’s potential for generating undetectable fake content has raised concerns globally. 

In July this year, a group of tech heavyweights, including Alphabet, Amazon.com, Microsoft, Meta, OpenAI, Anthropic, and Inflection, pledged to adhere to voluntary guidelines to mitigate AI-related risks. 

However, at the time, Musk’s xAI was notably absent from this collaboration. xAI is the tech billionaire’s latest venture that aims to “understand the true nature of the universe.”

Previously, Musk has said that his electric vehicle company possesses “the best real-world AI,” which he believes is underrated.

Meanwhile, the ongoing rivalry between Musk and Zuckerberg intensified following Threads' launch, initially dubbed as an alternative to Twitter. The tech billionaire acquired Twitter, now rebranded as X, for $44 billion last year.

The cover image of this story is AI-generated

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