Musk and Zuckerberg Finally Meet... Sharing AI Opinions Instead of Fists

First Face-to-Face Meeting After SNS Dispute
All CEOs Attending Agree on AI Regulation

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, and Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, who had previously hinted at a 'fight showdown' on the octagon, met face-to-face. However, instead of fighting gear, the two wore suits and met at a meeting hosted by the U.S. Congress to discuss the direction of artificial intelligence (AI) regulation.

According to the Washington Post (WP) and the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the 13th (local time), the two CEOs met at a private 'AI Insight Forum' hosted by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. Other big tech representatives attending included Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI; Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia; Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google; Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft (MS); and Satya Nadella, CEO of MS.

Musk and Zuckerberg met for the first time after their 'real fight' (a slang term meaning a fight in real life) exchange on social media. The long table in the center of the meeting room was crowded with about 20 tech leaders and government officials, but Musk and Zuckerberg sat far apart at opposite ends of the stage. WP described the meeting as an "unprecedented gathering of tech leaders."

Musk and Zuckerberg Speak with One Voice: "There Should Be a Department for AI Regulation"

Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer held a private "AI Insight Forum" attended by other big tech leaders including Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI; Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia; Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google; Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft (MS); and Satya Nadella, CEO of MS.
[Photo by AFP·Yonhap News]

At the meeting, Musk warned, "(AI) has tremendous potential, but at the same time, it carries risks to civilization," adding, "AI can be a double-edged sword."

He argued in response to reporters' questions that there should be a federal government-level AI department responsible for AI regulation.

Specifically, Musk said, "Because the consequences of AI going wrong are serious, we need proactive measures rather than reactive ones," and that a federal AI department could operate similarly to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) or the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Regarding the meeting, he added, "It seems a strong consensus was formed," and "This was a meeting that could be historically significant for the future of civilization."

Zuckerberg also agreed on the need for regulatory introduction through government intervention. He emphasized, "AI is an emerging technology, and ultimately the government will have responsibility to balance technological development," adding, "It is important to create (regulatory) standards unique to the United States." He further noted, "Because the harms of AI can be serious, proactive measures are more important than reactive ones."

In particular, Zuckerberg identified two key aspects for realizing AI potential and managing its risks: 'security' and 'accessibility.'

Meta has aggressively worked to increase AI technology accessibility, such as by releasing application programming interfaces (APIs) for large language models that form the basis of AI.

This API release aims to encourage more companies to utilize their AI models, with the calculation of expanding the ecosystem by increasing new services applying their AI technology. AI technology developers like OpenAI are also unveiling new services in the same context.

However, concerns were also raised that such open-source technology could fall into the hands of malicious actors or be used irresponsibly, leading to negative outcomes.

Meanwhile, according to Majority Leader Schumer, he asked whether the government should play a role in regulating AI, and everyone present raised their hands in agreement. Schumer expressed his intention to move toward passing legislation within a few months, but WSJ reported that the meeting had a tense atmosphere.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.