Elon Musk says helping launch OpenAI ultimately sped up the AI race instead of slowing it, calling the outcome an unintended consequence.
Speaking with The Economist's editor-in-chief Zanny Minton Beddoes, Musk said he originally co-founded OpenAI to act as a counterbalance to Google's dominance in artificial intelligence.
However, he believes the creation of OpenAI—and Anthropic's later split from it—ended up accelerating AI development rather than slowing the concentration of power.
"These actions have actually resulted in knock-on effects that accelerated AI, which wasn't really my intention," Musk said.
He added that it now seems "all roads lead to the acceleration of AI."
Despite his ongoing legal dispute with OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, Musk argued that leading AI companies should be allowed to examine competitors' new models before they are publicly released to identify potential safety risks.
He suggested giving rival companies one or two weeks to review major AI systems, saying competitors have an incentive to keep one another honest.
According to Musk, governments should only intervene if a company ignores serious safety concerns raised during that review process.
Musk also claimed Anthropic was created because its founders no longer trusted Sam Altman, adding that the company likely would not exist otherwise.
He described Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei as "a very principled person" who cares about the future of the world.
Musk has repeatedly criticized OpenAI's transformation from a nonprofit research lab into a commercial AI company. He previously sued OpenAI, Altman, Microsoft, and other affiliated parties, arguing the company abandoned its original mission. A federal judge dismissed those claims earlier this year, and Musk has said he intends to appeal.