Musk Wages Holy War Against AI Rivals

• Musk attacks integrity and ethics of Google, Microsoft and OpenAI to boost his own X.AI
• Musk sues OpenAI and Altman for breaking vow to keep AI non-profit and public-spirited
• Musk spotlights rivals’ AI flaws while omitting his own AI expansion plans
• Musk and Altman both claim the moral high ground in developing AI safely

Elon Musk has opened a fierce assault on the integrity of AI giants like Google, Microsoft and his former allies at OpenAI. Through lawsuits and viral attacks, he seeks to portray them as fundamentally unsound – biased, domineering and unethical – contrasting these alleged flaws against his own nascent X.AI as the righteous path forward.

Musk’s barrage includes a high-profile lawsuit targeting old partner Sam Altman and OpenAI, accusing Altman of betraying their original vow to keep OpenAI non-profit and beneficial to the public. Musk claims Altman instead sold out OpenAI’s principles by inking deals with mighty Microsoft to commercialize its AI for maximum profits, rather than maximum societal good.

Battle for the Soul of AI: Musk Takes on Big Tech

Conspicuously absent in Musk’s critiques are disclosures around his own expanding AI ambitions, including leadership roles at XAI and Tesla to develop related technologies he once decried as civilizational hazards. When first unveiling XAI last year, Musk claimed he would have preferred to pause advanced AI due to its perils. But with that prospect unrealistic, he positioned XAI as the ethical antidote to Big Tech’s alleged liberal biases.

As part of his offensive, Musk amplified attacks on Google’s new chatbot over politically correct historical fallacies. He expressed doubts that Google leadership could curb this “woke groupthink” without excising those responsible. Such debacles, Musk asserted, would ward off talented researchers from joining Google’s ranks.

Musk also excoriated Microsoft for compulsory user accounts that purportedly grant Microsoft open-ended access to shut down users’ devices.

For his part, Altman insists OpenAI had to ditch non-profit status due to lack of funding for responsible AI development, with Microsoft providing a $13 billion investment lifeline.

Both Musk and Altman wrap their respective AI efforts in the flag of ethical necessity, warning of existential calamity if the technology is deployed without due care. With AI’s godlike potential, Musk provocatively queries, “In whose image would you want the AI to be made?”

This new phase of the AI wars goes beyond mere market share to grappling with existential questions once posed by philosophers and prophets – what is the essence of this emergent intelligence, and what is its destiny? AI’s visionaries seek to imprint their values upon the machine, hoping to steer the spirit of the new era it may usher in.

Former allies now fracture into opposing camps, all claiming the virtuous mandate to shepherd this epochal creation. Microsoft backed Altman’s OpenAI, while Musk countered with his own XAI, promising an antidote to Big Tech’s alleged biases. Google, Apple and others race to mold AI in their preferred image. As data and dollars coalesce around chosen champions, pragmatism retreats before ideology. Partners morph into holy warriors.

These warring creators share a common anxiety – that AI could either uplift or subjugate humanity. Its priorities may come to reshape society’s laws, culture and notion of truth. Perhaps Musk spies his own impending obsolescence, as AI rivals the creativity of biological intelligence, exceeding his mastery. His rhetoric conveys desperation to remain relevant amidst forces he helped kindle but no longer controls. For AI no longer belongs to any singular vision or visionary. Its future is ours to uplift or squander.

Or just another smoke bomb tactics are used to deceive opponents while secretly developing his own AI weapons？