Anthropic · OpenAI · SpaceX · Wired · Elon Musk · xAI · Wired
Former OpenAI Staffers Warn That xAI’s Poor Safety Record Could Complicate SpaceX’s IPO
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Two former OpenAI employees and a group of AI safety nonprofits are warning that Elon Musk’s AI lab, xAI, could become a liability for prospective investors in SpaceX, which is preparing to file what’s expected to be the largest initial public offering in Wall Street history.
Key facts
- Other AI safety nonprofits also signed on, including Legal Advocates for Safe Science and Technology, Encode AI, and The Midas Project
- The rocket company’s private valuation shot up to over $1 trillion after it acquired xAI last year
- In a letter directed to investors published on Tuesday, the ex-staffers highlighted what they describe as “unpriced risks” related to xAI that could complicate SpaceX’s reported plans to raise up
- The latter case prompted at least 37 US attorneys general to send a letter demanding that Musk’s AI lab take steps to protect women and children on its platform
Summary
In a letter directed to investors published on Tuesday, the ex-staffers highlighted what they describe as “unpriced risks” related to xAI that could complicate SpaceX’s reported plans to raise up to $75 billion as part of its IPO. One of the letter’s signatories and coauthors is a new nonprofit called Guidelight AI Standards, which was cofounded by former OpenAI safety researcher Steven Adler and former OpenAI policy adviser Page Hedley. Hedley tells WIRED that he believes xAI has the worst safety practices “nearly across the board” compared to other frontier AI developers, including OpenAI, Google DeepMind, and Anthropic.