Tech

In the final section of cross-examination, Musk is asked about speaking with Altman in 2020. Musk apparently told Altman that OpenAI looked “hypocritical” after the deal with Microsoft and suggested he change the name of OpenAI. “He reassured me they were staying on mission,” Musk says on the stand — and therefore, Musk didn’t sue. Following that, cross-examination wraps up.

Savitt mentions an X post where Musk says “the future is going to be amazing with AI and robots enabling sustainable abundance for all” and asks if he thinks it’s accurate. “Well, I’ve also said there are many possible futures. Some futures are good, and some are not good,” Musk says. “I think it’s generally better to err on the side of optimism than pessimism.” Musk agrees that “aspirationally,” he promotes xAI with the message that the future is going to be amazing.

Ahead of The Mandalorian and Grogu hitting theaters on May 22nd, Hasbro has announced a new animatronic version of Grogu packed with motors, sensors, and the ability to shuffle around on its own two feet. CNET’s Bridget Carey visited Hasbro HQ for an early look at the toy including how it simulates using the Force.

Savitt is bringing up some previously released email exchanges where Musk appeared okay with discussing what OpenAI would and wouldn’t make open source — including one where he replied “yup” to a comment that it would make sense to start being less open as AI advanced. He asks if Musk has made xAI’s own advanced versions of Grok open source — “No, but it will,” Musk says.

Musk has explained that he didn’t object to the proposed introduction of a capped profit structure initially at OpenAI (and also didn’t review it very closely), and Savitt is asking if he knew what the cap was for Microsoft’s investments in the company — Musk doesn’t seem clear on it. Savitt asks whether Musk had a lawyer set terms and conditions for his donations. Musk answers: “No, but it was obviously started as a nonprofit, and in the founding charter it says it will not be to the financial benefit of any person?” The apparent intended gist is that Musk didn’t set clear terms he can point to OpenAI or Altman violating.

Elon Musk is on the stand, to continue the cross-examination from yesterday. If you’ve read Musk depositions or heard previous crosses, this kind of arguing and filibustering is pretty standard behavior. But I think this is the jury’s first encounter with it, and it’s hard to know how they’re going to take it.

We are still dealing with the pretrial motions about the boundaries on safety questions.

We are having an argument about which expert issues are going to be allowed. “We aren’t going to get into issues of catastrophe or extinction,” YGR says. Musk’s lawyers are not happy about this: “We all could die as the result of artificial intelligence.”

YGR has just sat down on the bench. Jury’s not here yet, so we are dealing with some motions and issues.

Launched last year, Preferred Sources allows you to customize the outlets you see the most often in Google Search’s “top stories” section. Now, this feature is available in “all supported languages globally,” according to Google.

Users in the US have been able to shrink YouTube videos while they access other apps for some time now, but now Google is expanding the feature to more regions in the coming months. It’s only available for long-form, non-music content on Android and iOS.

Sure, you might not like Sam Altman much. But have you considered how you’d feel about him if your other option was a day spent with Elon Musk?

The Financial Times reports Alphabet’s president of global affairs, Kent Walker, responded to employee opposition to the deal Google signed with the Pentagon in a memo on Tuesday, saying, “Staying engaged with governments, including on national security, will help democracies benefit from responsible technologies.”

The never-ending fight to end warrantless surveillance under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act continues, with the House voting 235–191 for a bill that, once again, did not add warrant requirements. The bill now goes to the Senate, which has until tomorrow before the current law expires. Congress already voted in a 10 day extension on April 20.

Alongside Quips, Patreon is also getting collaboration posts, a redesigned Home feed, and a feed just showing creators that you follow. The company initially introduced the features last year, but now they’re available to “the majority of creators and fans.”

I’ve just left the court after one of the most tiresome cross-examinations I have ever had the misfortune to witness. Elon Musk really wants us to think he’s just a poor simple country CEO, who is being maliciously tricked by a big-city lawyer. I’m not buying it and I don’t think the jury is, either

The ecommerce giant confirmed that it will hold the deals event one month early this year, offering discounts to Prime members in 26 countries. Amazon hasn’t revealed an exact date for Prime Day yet, but rumors suggest it could occur in “late June.”

Well there goes all my fun! I was so excited to hear about Mechahilter in open court — and, in addition, Sam Altman apologizing to a Canadian town for OpenAI not flagging a mass shooter. But since Musk did bring up the difference in for-profit and not-for profit motives, there is a limited line of questioning that can proceed.

There are a few matters the lawyers want to discuss with YGR. Musk’s testimony may have opened the door to questions about xAI and its safety record. I do love hearing the phrase “opened the door.”

Savitt hasn’t significantly raised the issue yet, but he’s started hinting at the idea that Musk’s safety-last approach at xAI might undercut his credibility. He asks Musk if it’s important to instill good values in AI systems, and after Musk agrees, asks if racist or sexist training materials could have a negative impact. Musk says systems wouldn’t necessarily absorb those values, and Savitt follows up to mention AI discrimination — and more specifically, an anti-algorithmic discrimination law in Colorado that Musk and xAI have been fighting against.

Savitt briefly explores a line of questioning about Grok, but it ends quickly. (It could be brought up for discussion later.) He moves on to asking about Musk’s purported commitment to care deeply about AI safety. Has Musk ever posted on Twitter/X about AI regulation? Musk doesn’t know off the top of his head. Savitt also sounds dubious of the idea that Musk spoke with Obama about AI safety, asking if there are any press reports or statements from the White House. Then, Savitt asks if Musk has spoken with the current president about the issue, especially since the former White House AI czar, David Sacks, is one of Musk’s fellow Paypal Mafia members.

Elon Musk is trying to outlawyer the lawyer on cross. At one point YGR has to intervene to get him to answer a yes or no question with “yes.” At another, he raised his voice to lecture Savett — not sure if the jury noticed the, uh, well it wasn’t quite yelling but it came pretty close.

Savitt asks Musk about a term sheet for OpenAI’s for-profit shift, which Sam Altman sent Musk to examine in 2018, and Musk admits “I didn’t read the whole document.” (It’s apparently four pages long.) The attorney then brings up a deposition in which Musk says multiple times that he doesn’t think he read it or looked closely at it. Musk gets testy and raises his voice as he’s asked to identify any communications where he objects to the proposed changes in 2018 or 2019. He repeats, once more, that he’s okay with a nonprofit having a capped for-profit arm — which Savitt says isn’t his question.