X.AI: Understand the Universe

At the moment, if you visit the X.ai about page, you’ll see the bold statement: “Our Mission: Understand the Universe.” While I deeply resonate with this mission and share immense respect and gratitude for Elon Musk and his contributions to humanity, I’m not inclined to delegate the task of understanding the universe to AI anytime soon—if ever. I wholeheartedly support the mission and the emotion behind it, and I’m grateful for Elon, his team, and for the world as we embrace such initiatives. That said, there are certain aspects where my perspective diverges. Allow me to explain.

First, let me clarify my stance on this topic. As I mentioned in my earlier article, my own “mission”—if not to literally understand the universe—is to grasp the essence of happiness (or the purpose of human life). Quite close, wouldn’t you agree?

Second, I am a passionate lover and advocate for all things tech, using AI in various forms every single day. In fact, it feels as if AI is handling much of my work these days.

AI is trained on data produced by humans, and it lacks direct access to elements like intuition, talent, and genius. True, the data we humans generate undoubtedly reflects a wealth of these qualities. However, this knowledge represents “the past”, and to forge ahead, we need a new spark—a fresh genius, a burst of brilliance. It’s akin to predicting the stock market based solely on historical data. The Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) posits that market prices fully reflect all available information, implying it’s impossible to consistently achieve returns surpassing the average market performance through predictions based on historical data. I believe that other more individual and perhaps esoteric factors come into play, such as individual karma.

Similarly, when humans make groundbreaking discoveries—be it a piece of art or anything that touches hearts and lives—they engage in co-creation. They find inspiration, they are guided by God, intuition, talent, or genius—whatever name you’re comfortable with. For me, they all stem from the same source. I believe this co-creation is a unique privilege and ability reserved for humanity.

While AI can access and analyze the collective knowledge of humankind almost instantaneously, making it undeniably “smarter” than any individual, it is only individuals who possess that connection and capacity for co-creation. This is a wonderful gift! It’s a creative and enriching process to understand what or who inspires us, whether it’s a breathtaking sunset or a heartfelt “thank you” accompanied by sincere eye contact from a stranger. True, that moment might be just a hint leading to profound discoveries. And yes, sometimes a word from AI might trigger our inner quest. However, we shouldn’t look to AI to help us comprehend THE SOURCE of the universe. We don’t need assistance in that realm. It is what we are designed to do—and we can do it well. We possess hearts, faith, and inquisitiveness. AI can support us, and it likely will, but it won’t lead us there. That is our responsibility.