--- title: "Elon Musk Claims Google Co-Founder Is Building a “Digital God”" description: "In a bombastic interview with Tucker Carlson, Elon Musk made a bold claim about Google co-founder Larry Page that, unfortunately, is kind of believable." date: "2023-04-19" modified: "2023-04-19" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-google-digital-god" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "Google" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "agi" - "elon musk" - "Larry Page" - "the digest" --- # Elon Musk Claims Google Co-Founder Is Building a “Digital God” ![In a bombastic interview with Tucker Carlson, Elon Musk made a bold claim about Google co-founder Larry Page that, unfortunately, is kind of believable.]() *SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 03: Tesla CEO Elon Musk gets into a car as he leaves the Phillip Burton Federal Building on February 03, 2023 in San Francisco, California. Closing arguments have wrapped up in the trial where investors are suing Tesla and Elon Musk, its chief executive officer, over his August 2018 tweets where he said he was taking Tesla private with funding that he secured. The tweet was found to be false and cost shareholders billions of dollars when Tesla's stock price began to fluctuate wildly allegedly based on the tweet. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) \Image: Getty Images/Justin Sullivan\* ## Quiet Part Out Loud In a bombastic interview with none other than Tucker freakin' Carlson, Elon Musk made a bold claim about Google co-founder Larry Page that, we have to admit, isn't *entirely* implausible. During the [newly-released *Fox News* interview](), Musk alleged that back when he and the Google co-founder and CEO "used to be close friends" and he'd stay at the techster's Palo Alto house, they'd get into lengthy discussions about "AI safety" — and that what Page told him led to his own cofounding of OpenAI. In characteristic confused-puppy fashion, Carlson asked Musk what Page had said about AI. "He really seemed to be — wanted sort of digital superintelligence, basically a digital god, if you will, as soon as possible," the now-Twitter-CEO responded. https://twitter.com/greg_price11/status/1648118367142699008 ## Google It Musk went on to claim that over the years, Page has suggested publicly that "the whole goal of Google" is to usher in what's known as artificial general intelligence, or AGI. To be fair, [that appears to be true](). "At one point I said, 'what about, you know, \[how are\] we gonna make sure humanity's okay here?'" he recounted, laughing. "And, um, then he called me a speciesist." After getting another of Carlson's trademark clueless looks, Musk said that "there were witnesses" to Page using that term, though he didn't name any names. ## Truth Hurts After recounting that outlandish anecdote, the serial business-buyer went on to tout "[TruthGPT]()," the "maximum truth-seeking" AI chatbot [he's been]() [quietly building]() in the aftermath of [OpenAI's viral success]() (in spite of cofounding it, [Musk left after a few years]() due to differences in vision.) As much as we hate to hand it to him, this Page claim certainly does *seem* plausible, especially given that, as Musk added, by the time Google acquired the DeepMind AI research firm, it had "about three-quarters of all the AI talent in the world" along with "a lot of money and more computers than anyone else." *Futurism* has reached out to Google for comment, and if you happen to have corroboration about any part of Musk's claim, please hit up our tip line. In the meantime, please join us in laughing at the name "TruthGPT," which sounds more like a [Donald Trum]()p chatbot than something meant to [counter irresponsible AI](). **More on scary AI:** [*Machine Learning Investor Warns AI Is Becoming Like a God*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()