Friday, September 20, 2024
HomeTechnologyElon Musk to meet Benjamin Netanyahu in Silicon Valley to discuss AI

Elon Musk to meet Benjamin Netanyahu in Silicon Valley to discuss AI

Published on

spot_img


Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet X owner Elon Musk on Monday in Silicon Valley, an official in Netanyahu’s office said Thursday, and Musk said their talks would focus on artificial intelligence technology.

Netanyahu was already scheduled to visit California next week before traveling to New York for the UN General Assembly. The Israeli official confirmed the meeting with Musk, first reported by the Washington Post but offered no further details.

In Silicon Valley, Netanyahu may try to bolster relations with executives in the high-tech sector, a key driver of Israel’s economy.

During his trip, it was unclear whether Netanyahu would meet with President Biden, who has expressed concern about a judicial overhaul undertaken by Netanyahu and his right-wing government.

Hate speech on X, formerly known as Twitter, has increased dramatically since Musk bought the site last year and loosened safeguards around content moderation.

Last week, Musk said US ad revenue had declined by 60%.

The meeting is the latest step in a campaign by Musk’s Jewish friends and allies to stave off the mounting criticism surrounding the increase in antisemitic speech on X, the Post said, citing five people familiar with the situation.


 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
In Silicon Valley, Benjamin Netanyahu may try to bolster relations with executives in the high-tech sector, a key driver of Israel’s economy.
U. Baumgarten via Getty Images

Elon Musk
The meeting is the latest step in a campaign by Musk’s Jewish friends and allies to stave off the mounting criticism surrounding the increase in antisemitic speech on X, The Washington Post reported.
Ron Sachs – CNP / MEGA

The White House did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

Musk also declined comment, but on X he said that the meeting was scheduled weeks ago and would focus on artificial intelligence technology.

Civil rights groups, including the Center for Countering Digital Hate and the Anti-Defamation League, have issued findings that the volume of hate speech on X has grown dramatically under the stewardship of Musk, who is also the CEO of electric carmaker Tesla.

See also  'Mass surveillance' fears over law change plans

In December, the ADL noted both an increase in antisemitic content on the platform and a decrease in the moderation of antisemitic posts since Musk took over.

The Center for Countering Digital Hate said the daily use of a racial slur against Black people under Musk was triple the 2022 average and slurs against gay men and trans persons were up 58% and 62%, respectively.

Without providing evidence, Musk has blamed critics for the slump in ad revenue. He has pointed the finger specifically at pressure from the ADL, which he has started to pejoratively refer to as the “Defamation League,” including in his statement on X on Thursday.


Anti-Defamation League logo
Civil rights groups, including the Center for Countering Digital Hate and the Anti-Defamation League, have issued findings that the volume of hate speech on X has grown dramatically under the stewardship of Musk

Earlier this month, Musk joined a conversation on X with the hashtag #BantheADL, embraced by white nationalists and antisemites, and asked followers whether he should poll the platform about it. He engaged in exchanges with users who expressed antisemitic viewpoints during the discussion.

X’s new content moderation policy has made it challenging to convince brands that the social media platform was safe for ads, the company’s former head of brand safety and ad quality AJ Brown told Reuters in an interview this month.

Biden has not met with Netanyahu since the Israeli leader took office for a sixth term in late December. Biden has held off extending the invitation out of concern about Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul as well as Israel’s expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

Foreign investment in Israeli tech startups has plunged in the last year, partly due to a global slowdown and exacerbated by investor fears that the push to trim the Supreme Court’s powers would remove a key check and balance.

See also  What science actually says about social media’s effects on mental health

With foreign flows down sharply, the shekel has weakened by nearly 9% versus the dollar this year.



Source link

Latest articles

Pancake breakfast aims to help keep Ocean Beach events calendar full – San Diego Union-Tribune

The 26th annual Near the Pier Pancake Breakfast lured flapjack fans to Saratoga...

Venice homicide investigation underway after man found dead off Lincoln Blvd

article The body was discovered shortly before 1 a.m. in...

Ashton Kutcher slammed as video of him laughing about Diddy’s parties resurfaces: ‘There’s a lot I can’t tell’

Ashton Kutcher's longtime friendship with Sean 'Diddy' Combs has come under scrutiny amid...

This 3-hour NYC Cruise Lets You Enjoy Fall Foliage Without Going to Upstate New York

With traces of leaves changing this week in New York state, now...

More like this

Pancake breakfast aims to help keep Ocean Beach events calendar full – San Diego Union-Tribune

The 26th annual Near the Pier Pancake Breakfast lured flapjack fans to Saratoga...

Venice homicide investigation underway after man found dead off Lincoln Blvd

article The body was discovered shortly before 1 a.m. in...

Ashton Kutcher slammed as video of him laughing about Diddy’s parties resurfaces: ‘There’s a lot I can’t tell’

Ashton Kutcher's longtime friendship with Sean 'Diddy' Combs has come under scrutiny amid...