Elon Musk Claims Twitter Experience Enhanced for Majority of Users
During a conference in Paris, Elon Musk revealed that he acquired Twitter Inc. with the intention of improving the negative impact the social network was having on civil society.
“My hope was to change this and make it positive for civilization,” he said as part of a wide-ranging discussion at the VivaTech conference on Friday before a crowd of about 4,000 people. Musk said he believes most regular Twitter users would say their experience on the site has improved.
Musk also expressed optimism about new CEO Linda Yaccarino’s ability to court advertisers. Network usage is at an all-time high and that “almost all advertisers have said they’re either back or coming back,” he said.
After Musk took over, advertisers began fleeing Twitter because of concerns about the content their ads would appear next to. Since October, Twitter’s ad revenue has dropped 50%, Musk said in March. Twitter recently lost two executives responsible for censoring the site for violence, hate speech, pornography and other content that companies are hesitant to promote their products alongside.
Musk hired Yaccarino, a former NBC Universal advertising executive, to improve the company’s relationship with brands. He said he would do a “great job” addressing “advertisers’ concerns” about posting ads on the social network.
Still, he joked about his $44 billion purchase: “If I’m so smart, why did I pay so much for Twitter?”
Musk, who was interviewed on stage by advertising veteran and Publicis Groupe SA chairman Maurice Levy, also used the platform to reiterate his concerns about the dangers of letting artificial intelligence develop unchecked.
“There is a great danger that digital superintelligence will have negative consequences,” the billionaire said. “If we’re not careful in creating general AI, we could have a catastrophic outcome.”
While what he called the “most disruptive technology of all time” could also have positive outcomes, he emphasized that “there is definitely a risk to the public” and the technology should be regulated.
Musk also predicted his Neuralink Corp. would perform its first human implant later this year. Last month, Neuralink announced that it had received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration to conduct human clinical trials. Musk called progress “slow” and said the goal is to restore full-body use to a person who has lost it.
Earlier on Friday, he had lunch with Bernard Arnault, the French billionaire who temporarily overtook Musk to become the world’s richest person. Musk recently regained his rank as CEO and majority owner of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE after investors sold the luxury stock.
Musk also met with French President Emmanuel Macron, who has been lobbying Musk to build a factory in the country. Before the meeting, Macron said he wanted to discuss artificial intelligence, social media and the regulatory framework for social networks.
