Elon Musk’s AI Company Just Sacked an Engineer for Posting About Its Upcoming AI Model

Is Elon Musk’s AI Company Anti-Free Speech?

A recent incident involving Elon Musk’s “anti-woke” AI company has raised questions about its stance on free speech. The company forced one of its engineers, Benjamin De Kraker, to resign for simply posting his opinion.

De Kraker shared his experience in a detailed post, revealing that he was asked to delete a post where he ranked a yet-to-be-released model lower than a competitor’s offering. He chose not to delete the post, stating that it was a harmless personal opinion.

The engineer explained that the company cited confidentiality concerns as the reason for asking him to remove the post, despite Musk himself announcing the model on the same platform earlier. De Kraker suspected that the real issue was his honest assessment of the model’s capabilities compared to others.

In a surprising turn of events, Musk himself commented on the situation, calling it “weird.” De Kraker agreed, emphasizing the disappointment of being targeted for expressing a labeled opinion that was not controversial.

Despite Musk’s acknowledgment, there has been no update on De Kraker’s situation, leaving the outcome uncertain. This incident sheds light on the complexities of free speech within Musk’s company, challenging the notion of “free speech absolutism” in practice.

The saga continues, with De Kraker’s case serving as a reminder of the complexities surrounding free speech in the tech industry. The debate between transparency and confidentiality remains ongoing, highlighting the challenges faced by employees when expressing their opinions.