LAGOS, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA) – In a conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu streamed on the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter), Elon Musk addressed accusations of antisemitism and his plans for the platform.
Musk defended himself against antisemitism allegations, stating that he is against anything that promotes hate and conflict.
He has been in a dispute with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) over X’s advertising revenue and has threatened to sue the ADL.
Musk also expressed his commitment to combat hate speech on the platform.
He mentioned that X sees 100 to 200 million posts daily, making it challenging to police in advance, but emphasized the platform’s commitment to not promoting hate speech.
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Netanyahu hoped that Musk would find a way to limit antisemitism and hate within the confines of the First Amendment.
Musk stated that he is “pro-free speech” but against “antisemitism of any kind.”
The conversation covered various topics, including AI and artificial intelligence’s potential risks and benefits.
Netanyahu expressed concerns about the disruption of democracy, mind manipulation, crime syndicates, and AI-driven wars resulting from unchecked artificial intelligence.
Musk revealed that X would move toward requiring a small monthly payment as a solution to limit the proliferation of bots amplifying hate speech.
He explained that making users pay a small fee would increase the effective cost of operating bots, as they would need a new payment method each time they create one.
This meeting was part of Netanyahu’s visit to Silicon Valley to highlight Israel’s AI potential and to seek investments from prominent tech leaders.
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The tensions between Musk and the ADL had begun before the meeting’s planning but did not affect the meeting’s agenda, according to an Israeli official traveling with Netanyahu.
Netanyahu and Musk have maintained contact since 2018, sharing views on AI’s potential benefits and risks.
During the discussion, Netanyahu expressed the need to draft Israel’s AI policy in the coming months.
The meeting took place at Tesla’s offices in Fremont, California, as part of Netanyahu’s effort to engage with top tech executives before the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
