?
OpenAI is an artificial intelligence (AI) research company co-founded by tech entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Sam Altman in late 2015. OpenAI is best known for its ambitious research projects aimed at producing general artificial intelligence that can tackle any task without external direction at the same standards as a human. OpenAI’s research is also focused on developing human-level artificial intelligence and encouraging the wide use of AI through open source software. As such, OpenAI is seen by many commentators as a product of populist technology shaped by a single man, namely Musk. OpenAI’s goals are inherently populist, as the company seeks to make automation and AI affordable and accessible to a broad range of users. OpenAI’s “bottom-up” approach to AI research and development has attracted praise and criticism alike. On one hand, many have been encouraged to see a company seeking to democratize access to powerful AI tools. On the other, there are concerns that OpenAI’s research and focus on developing general intelligence can bring forth major ethical challenges. OpenAI and its founder Elon Musk thus remain symbols of populist technology shaped by an individual, or a singular force, in the public consciousness.
