Provide a human with neural implants this year and do not censor Twitter: Elon Musk held his rank as a world star of tech in front of 3,600 admirers on Friday in Paris, without however mentioning the Tesla factory of which the Elysée dreams for France .
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For two hours at the Dôme de Paris, guest of the VivaTech show, the controversial billionaire, who also owns SpaceX, stuck to his image as an uninhibited visionary, distilling his advice for success to fascinated start-up leaders and aspiring entrepreneurs.
Despite a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron at midday, he did not say a word about the possible installation of a Tesla factory in France.
He had however promised in May, during the “Thing France” show, that the electric car manufacturer would make “significant investments” in the country. “Let’s work together”, nevertheless tweeted in English the head of state after their meeting, at the very moment when the American leader started at his conference.
Elon Musk’s only announcement on this occasion: he said he wanted to provide a first human being with neural implants in 2023 from his company Neuralink, which has just obtained authorization to carry out tests in the United States. “Later this year, we will do our first human chip implantation, for someone who has a form of tetraplegia,” he said.
The purpose of these brain chips is to make brains and computers communicate directly, to help people who are paralyzed or suffering from neurological diseases.
During his presentation, in front of an overheated room, he also defended a Twitter free of all censorship and considered that artificial intelligence risked triggering an “apocalypse” for humanity. Positions that this libertarian has already repeated many times.
“If we’re hit by an AI-triggered apocalypse, I think I’d still like to be alive then,” he smiled.
But he didn’t give up on the bottom. To Orange boss Christel Heydemann, who abruptly challenged him on the reasons why Twitter had just left the European Union’s code of conduct on disinformation, Elon Musk replied: if “someone who says something that you don’t like” is blocked, “it’s only a matter of time before censorship turns against you”.
Hiding behind his conception of freedom of expression, he ended up admitting that “if you were harassed (on the social network), it was a bad experience”.
Incidentally, he admitted having paid too much – 44 billion – Twitter. “If I’m so smart, why did I pay so much for it?” he quipped. “I am not the devil”, he also launched with a sardonic laugh at the co-founder of VivaTech, Maurice Lévy, who hosted this conference.
Previously, he had lunch with the boss of LVMH Bernard Arnault, with whom he disputes the head of the annual ranking of the most important world fortunes of Forbes magazine.
The presentation of Elon Musk in France is not over: he granted an interview to France 2 which will be broadcast Monday evening after the 8 p.m. news.
Earlier, Mr. Musk had met Thursday in Rome with the head of the Italian government, Giorgia Meloni. They touched on a few “crucial topics” like “AI risks” and “natality,” she tweeted.
The American boss, with extreme political positions, has become the darling of conservatives across the Atlantic for his fight against censorship and for having restored the account of ex-President Donald Trump.