--- title: "OpenAI Researcher Mocks Elon Musk’s AGI Claim to His Face" description: "Inveterate overpromiser Elon Musk is teasing that his chatbot Grok could soon \"achieve artificial general intelligence,\" or AGI — a hypothetical form of AI system that surpasses humans in virtually every way, and remains the white whale of the AI…" date: "2025-10-21" modified: "2025-10-21" authors: - name: "Frank Landymore" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/flandymore" url: "https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/openai-researcher-mocks-elon-musks-agi" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "OpenAI" - "The Industrialists" - "xAI" --- # OpenAI Researcher Mocks Elon Musk’s AGI Claim to His Face ![Elon Musk first teased then proclaimed that Grok will achieve AGI, and an OpenAI researcher wasn't having it.]() *Illustration by Tag Hartman-Simkins / Futurism. Source: STR / NurPhoto via Getty Images* Inveterate overpromiser Elon Musk is teasing that his chatbot Grok could soon "achieve artificial general intelligence," or AGI — a hypothetical form of AI system that surpasses humans in virtually every way, and remains the white whale of the AI industry. "My estimate of the probability of Grok 5 achieving AGI is now at 10 percent and rising," Musk [wrote]() on his website X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday. Like a good courtier, an employee at Musk's AI firm xAI was there to boost Musk's claim within the hour. "I trust this forecast of probability," [tweeted]() the employee Aditya Gupta. (This is the same worker who a few months ago was publicly [chewed out by his boss]() for using the word "researcher" instead of "engineer." At the time, Gupta issued a sheepish correction.) And thus began a sycophant game of telephone. Musk, in response to someone praising his own prediction, interpreted that as a sign to double down on it — while at the same time hedging his bets, somehow. "Grok 5 will be AGI or something indistinguishable from AGI," an emboldened Musk [proclaimed](). Musk [made a similar bet]() in 2024, predicting AGI would come "within two years." He [also teased]() last month that Grok 5 "has a chance" of reaching AGI. But is it a ten percent chance? Or is it something that "will," as in *absolutely*, happen, per his latest tweet? Raising pedantic quibbles like these will make Musk very mad at you, apparently. Because that's what exactly OpenAI research scientist Gabriel Petersson did. "10 percent chance Elon declares he reached AGI a fourth time," Petersson, who works on the company's video generating AI Sora, [joked](). "It's no longer first to AGI, it's first to 10 AGIs." Musk fumed in the replies, reaching back to his strange bugbear about "researchers" versus "engineers" that had previously caused him to rage at Gupta. "You call yourself a 'researcher,'" he wrote. "Pathetic." Musk is in a bitter rivalry with OpenAI, a company he helped cofound in 2015 with its current CEO Sam Altman. Musk departed the firm, which is now being valued at half a trillion dollars, in late 2018 reportedly because of clashing with Altman's direction. The two have been feuding ever since, with Musk [firing off several lawsuits]() against his former company. They also have different definitions of AGI: Musk considers it an AI that's either "smarter than the smartest human" he [said]() in 2024, or "capable of doing anything a human with a computer can do," he said in a [recent tweet]() (good luck pinning him down on anything.) OpenAI [officially defines]() it as a "highly autonomous system that outperforms humans at most economically valuable work," but Altman is also [on the record saying]() that AGI is "not a super useful term," despite continuing to use it. All that said, it's a little rich that an OpenAI employee is taking the high ground on AI predictions. Its head honcho Altman has repeatedly exaggerated the capabilities of his own tech and has also hyped AGI as something just around the corner; last year, he [proclaimed]() that AGI is achievable with "current hardware," for example. In the build up to the launch of OpenAI's newest GPT-5 model this summer — considered a [massive disappointment]() by many — Altman declared it a "significant step along the path to AGI." He even called the model "generally intelligent." It's the same slimy salesmanship as Musk, only less stupid-sounding. **More on AI:** *[OpenAI Researcher Forced to Delete “Embarrassing” Tweet Claiming Huge Breakthrough]()* ## Author At Futurism, my work has often centered on bringing a sense of clarity and insight to complex topics ranging from the regulation of emerging technologies to the esoteric ideologies of Silicon Valley executives, while striving not to lose the poetic sense of awe inspired by often-obscure fields like astrophysics and quantum computing. I broke the story of CNET using AI to produce articles that turned out to be riddled with factual errors and plagiarism — a dam-breaking inflection point, as I've reported, that's inspired copycats and endless discourse while beguiling stakeholders ranging from tech giants to purveyors of spam around the web. My work at Futurism has been cited by publications including CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, Vice, Gizmodo, Engadget, the Verge, and Vanity Fair. I grew up in locales ranging from India to China, and now live in the exotic suburbs of Virginia. In my free time, I'm an avid reader of weird sci-fi literature, an aficionado of East Asian cinema, and, regrettably, a relapsed gamer. Allegedly, I’m working on a debut novel, currently untitled. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()