For at least a decade, Elon Musk has tried to steer the development of artificial intelligence—only to be outmaneuvered by rivals and former allies. 

He has now stepped up his efforts after the success of OpenAI, an organization he co-founded but then left after a power struggle. Mr. Musk has warned for years that poorly built artificial intelligence could have catastrophic effects on humanity. Since OpenAI’s ChatGPT became a viral sensation last November, Mr. Musk has denounced it as politically correct and warned it could lead AI to become too powerful for humans to control.