Netanyahu’s high-profile visit comes at a time when Musk is facing accusations of espousing anti-Semitism on X.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is starting an American trip in California to discuss technology and artificial intelligence with billionaire businessman Elon Musk.
The Israeli leader posted on Monday on Musk X’s social media platform, formerly known as Twitter, that he plans to speak with the CEO of Tesla “about how we can use the opportunities and reduce the risks of AI for the good of civilization.” “
Netanyahu’s high-profile visit to the San Francisco Bay Area comes at a time when Musk is facing accusations that he adopted anti-Semitic messages on his social media platform, while Netanyahu is going to -face political opposition at home and abroad. Protesters gathered early Monday outside the Fremont, California factory where Tesla makes its cars.
The live video stream began shortly before 9:30 a.m. with Netanyahu and the Tesla CEO. X Netanyahu’s official account said he is having a “one-on-one conversation” with Musk. The number of spectators was around 700-800 people.
The two started with a joke about deepfakes and quickly started talking about artificial intelligence as a blessing and a curse for humanity.
Netanyahu said an important question about more advanced AI is: “How do you get the international system to control this thing?”
He said he is starting by asking like-minded states to agree to a code of ethics and a code of conduct to foster the benefits and “prevent the curses” but said there is still a need to “police the planet” against false actors.
The freestyle conversation, which included jokes from both men, soon turned to free speech and anti-Semitism, with Netanyahu telling Musk that he hopes within the boundaries of the First Amendment, he found a way to stop anti-Semitism and others. types of hate on his social media platform.
“I encourage and urge you to find the balance. It’s a difficult one,” Netanyahu said.
Musk responded that he was “kind of against anything that incites hatred and conflict,” the Washington Post reported. He said he was “in favor of what advances civilization and brings us to the end beyond being a space civilization”, and “we can’t do that if there’s a lot of turmoil and hatred and negativity. So obviously I am against antisemitism. “
Musk said that with 100 million to 200 million posts on X in a day, “some of those are going to be bad.” He then confirmed the platform’s policy of not promoting or promoting hate speech.
Under Musk, the former Twitter changed its rules so that objectionable posts are not usually removed, but instead their visibility is limited so that people have to search if they want to see it. . Musk calls this “freedom of speech, not freedom of access”.
‘Elevated’ hate speech
Musk is facing accusations that he accepted anti-Semitic messages on his social media platform. The Anti-Defamation League, a prominent Jewish civil rights group, has accused Musk of allowing anti-Semitism and hate speech to spread on X. Its director, Jonathan Greenblatt, said Musk had “ increasing” neo-Nazi and white supremacist messages. who wants to ban the league by contacting them recently on X.
In a Sept. 4 post, Musk said the league was “trying to kill this platform by falsely accusing him and me of being anti-Semitic.” In other posts, he said the league was responsible for a 60 percent drop in revenue at X.
The group met this month with X chief executive Linda Yaccarino. Both Musk and Yaccarino have recently sent out messages saying they are against antisemitism.
Netanyahu’s meeting with Musk comes after nine months of demonstrations by Israelis against their prime minister’s plan to overhaul the country’s legal system. These protests have spread abroad, with groups of Israeli expats holding demonstrations when Netanyahu and other members of his Cabinet visited.
Netanyahu says the legal overhaul plan is needed to curb the powers of unelected judges, who he and his allies say are liberal and too intrusive. Critics say his plan is a power grab that will destroy the country’s system of checks and balances and push it towards autocratic rule.
Key figures in Israel’s influential high-tech community have played a prominent role in the protests. They say weakening the judiciary will harm the country’s business climate and drive away foreign investment. Israel’s currency, the check, has fallen in value this year in a sign of weakening foreign investment.
