In the wake of SpaceX's acquisition of social media platform X and artificial intelligence company xAI, CEO Elon Musk is making grand plans, according to The New York Times.
Musk mentioned in an all-hands meeting his intention to build factories on the moon that would then launch satellite AI data centers using a mass driver system. Mass drivers launch payloads using magnetic fields. Incidentally, that technology does not yet exist at that scale.
Musk also forecast staff reductions.
"If you're moving faster than anyone else in any given technology arena, you will be the leader, and xAI is moving faster than any other company — no one's even close," Musk said, per the Times. "Because we've reached a certain scale, we're organizing the company to be more effective at this scale. And actually, when this happens, there's some people who are better suited for the early stages of a company and less suited for the later stages."
Some key executives preempted these reductions by departing voluntarily, including xAI co-founder Tony Wu.
Artificial intelligence requires steep energy and water costs. The environmental impacts of these demands are well documented, though efforts have been made to curb such negative impacts. Google, Meta, and Microsoft have been making major investments in nuclear power, for instance.
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Satellites would certainly be able to make use of solar power, but Musk's cosmic ambitions have often been stunted by reality. In 2016, Musk claimed SpaceX would make crewed missions to Mars in 2024. The challenge in accomplishing this may explain the new goal of a lunar base as a stepping stone to Mars.
SpaceX has made technological strides in reusing rockets that would otherwise litter the world's oceans, but satellite debris remains a risk. Space travel also still produces significant pollution, particularly as launch frequency ramps up.
Despite these costs, Musk's AI ambitions remain undeterred.
"It's difficult to imagine what an intelligence of that scale would think about, but it's going to be incredibly exciting to see it happen," he said at the all-hands meeting.
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