Elon Musk Merges AI with X: Implications

Elon Musk has announced today that his artificial intelligence company, xAI, has acquired X (formerly Twitter) in an all-stock transaction valued at $33 billion, with xAI's valuation reaching $80 billion (xAI was valued at around $50 billion in a financing round last year and according to Bloomberg, last month the company was in talks to raise funds at a $75 billion valuation). Although his feature, “Grok” has already been integrated into X for some time, it makes xAI and X officially a single entity.

Musk acquired Twitter for $44 billion in 2022.

This merger aims to integrate xAI's advanced AI capabilities with X's extensive user base of over 600 million active users, leveraging resources such as data, models, computing power, distribution networks, and talent.

If I were a betting woman, I’d guess that this has been Musk’s plan for quite some time—he wasn’t just acquiring a social network or a ‘town square’ to restore freedom of speech, but rather an endless amount of user data. Because, let’s face it, data is the real digital currency.

Shortly after acquiring Twitter (X), he had closed API to third-party developers, limiting how third-party apps and services could interact with or retrieve information from X.

This was likely tied to xAI’s development. With full access to data from X, Musk's AI company can directly use this vast trove of information to build better, more personalized AI models.

While the AI play was likely not his sole motivation for purchasing the platform, it was a key one.

He also had plans of making X into the “everything app” which would allow not merely social networking, but also online commerce, and more. Earlier, X had partnered with eToro, a trading and investment platform.

Think of it as the Swiss Army knife of the digital world—except with a slightly sharper edge. And speaking of sharp edges, X has undeniably become a powerful political tool, perfectly suited to Musk’s brand of activism.

By merging xAI with X, he’s bringing together social networking and artificial intelligence in a synergetic way. AI can analyze user behavior, interests, and interactions in real-time to provide more tailored content, including transactional opportunities—whether that means more targeted advertising, or investment opportunities. The platform doesn’t merely provide a space for users to engage within, but rather is able to study them and offer them the things they are more likely to be interested in based on not just interests, but also emotion and behaviors. Over time, it can also predict user sentiments.

Musk is essentially creating a feedback loop where user data continuously enhances the platform, making it more attractive to users, as well as advertisers and service providers. This creates a highly profitable model based on AI-driven personalization.

Of course this is all not without concerns, ranging from user privacy, to data security, and how it’s used—to sell, to manipulate, to study? Given Musk’s political engagement and the platform's role in shaping discourse, combining AI with X could significantly enhance his—or others'—ability to influence political narratives through targeted content, raising some ethical questions. In other words, it’s not just the future of social media—it’s the dawn of political Jedi mind tricks.

After all, when a platform can predict your thoughts before you even have them, it can quickly turn from sharing memes to mind control with a side of ads.

What do you think?

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