Musk expresses opposition to Trump's Stargate initiative
In the aftermath of his inauguration, the newly-elected US President unveiled a monumental IT initiative, dubbed "Stargate." This ambitious project, touted as the largest in history, aimed to pour billions into Artificial Intelligence (AI). However, it seemed that his trusted ally Elon Musk wasn't exactly thrilled with this plan, expressing his concerns on X.
Musk's issue? Lack of sufficient funding. He suggested that the main investors didn't have the financial resources needed for this endeavor, a claim he claimed to be backed by credible information.
Trump announced Stargate on the day following his swearing-in, with prominent backers including US pioneer OpenAI, Japanese SoftBank, and US tech giant Oracle. SoftBank's CEO, Masayoshi Son, had initially announced that the project would kick off with $100 billion in investments, with this figure expected to surge to $500 billion over a four-year period.
However, according to Musk, SoftBank had only secured 'significantly less than $10 billion' for the project. This revelation raised eyebrows, given Musk's support for Trump during his campaign and his subsequent role as a government advisor, focusing on regulatory reform.
Refuting Musk's claims, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman labelled his remarks as 'wrong,' adding that Stargate was indeed advantageous for the country, despite potential drawbacks for private companies.
This rivalry between Musk and Altman, two influential figures in the tech industry, dates back to their time with OpenAI. Musk had been instrumental in the company's founding but had left in 2018. Later, he took legal action against Altman, accusing OpenAI of deviating from its original objectives and transforming into a for-profit organization.
In the context of Stargate, Trump revealed plans to construct 'colossal data centers' to spur AI growth, with these creating over 100,000 jobs. The project, with its immense power consumption due to high-performance data centers, also represented a challenge in managing energy demands.
Looking back, Trump had revoked a decree enacted by his predecessor on AI regulation. Consequently, the U.S., a hub for AI pioneers, had no formal rules guiding AI development, putting the country in a unique position.
Despite the Commission's earlier recommendations for adequate funding, Musk expressed concern over SoftBank's alleged securing of 'significantly less than $10 billion' for Stargate.
Given the Commission's previous suggestions, Musk's allegation of insufficient funding for Stargate attracted widespread attention.
