2023-06-16 18:04:36
Aurélien Fleurot with AFP / Photo credit: JOEL SAGET / AFP
modified to
8:17 p.m., June 16, 2023
An acclaimed Elon Musk in Paris. After being received by Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée, where they discussed the themes of artificial intelligence and the electric car, the leader of Tesla, SpaceX and Twitter held a conference at the VivaTech show, where nearly 4,000 fans of the tech gathered to welcome him. During this meeting, the billionaire was questioned by Maurice Lévy, the boss of Publicis. The American therefore exchanged for an hour with the French businessman, but also the leaders of Orange, LVMH and L’Oréal, as well as the public. But concretely, what to remember from this visit?
Defend freedom of expression
Elon Musk defended freedom of expression on Twitter. The billionaire rejected the idea of Twitter “censorship” on Friday and once more defended the principle of “freedom of expression” on the social network he owns, in response to questions regarding its compliance with the rules of EU regulation and on cyberbullying. In front of 3,600 people at the Dôme de Paris, questioned by the general manager of Orange Christel Heydemann, the American billionaire kicked in touch and was content to affirm that Twitter respected the laws of each country.
In passing, he admitted that he had paid too much for the micro-blogging site. “If I’m so smart, why did I pay so much for it?” he quipped, when he paid 44 billion dollars for this operation. While the boss of Orange abruptly challenged him on the reasons why Twitter has just left the European Union’s code of good conduct on disinformation, Elon Musk replied: if “someone who says something you don’t like” is blocked, “it’s only a matter of time before censorship turns once morest you”. “Freedom of expression matters,” insisted Elon Musk, known for his libertarian positions on this subject.
A human being with brain implants as soon as 2023
In addition, Elon Musk has announced that he wants to equip “this year” a first human being with neural implants from his company Neuralink, whose technology has just been authorized for UNITED STATES. “We hope that, later this year, we will do our first implantation of a chip in humans, for someone who has a form of quadriplegia”, detailed the billionaire, questioned by a child and his father at the end of the question-and-answer session in front of the 3,600 people at the Dôme de Paris. “I want to reassure anyone who may be scared off by Neuralink. It’s going to be a pretty slow process,” he added.
Neuralink, a start-up created by Elon Musk, received approval from US health authorities at the end of May to test its brain implants on humans. By placing microchips in human brains, the multi-billionaire’s objective is to make brains and computers communicate directly. The medium-term goal is to help people who are paralyzed, suffering from spinal cord injuries or suffering from neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s disease. In the long term, the goal would be to create a symbiotic relationship between humans and artificial intelligence, which might blur the boundaries between human thought and computing. On the other hand, the boss of Tesla also explained why he had asked for a break on artificial intelligence. “I think there is a real danger with artificial intelligence. It can be negative, even with catastrophic consequences. Afterwards, I think the most likely are positive consequences. But I strongly recommend that it there is a regulation for AI”, warns the billionaire.
A conquered audience
In the audience, many students were won over, like Mathieu. “In fact, we can say that the key is to work to succeed. Especially at the end, his last motivational sentence: ‘passion, we have it. The others don’t know that we have it But we have to make other people passionate thanks to our passion. Honestly, it was a moment that remains unforgettable”, rejoices the young Frenchman. However, Elon Musk said nothing regarding Tesla’s investments in France. Not a word this Friday, or even confirmation. There will surely be an answer next Monday evening, since the billionaire is the exceptional guest of France 2 on the television news at 8 p.m. The question of the Tesla factory in France will certainly be settled at that time.
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