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'You will become the parents of AI'
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- DeepHorus
According to Business Insider on August 12, SpaceX founder Elon Musk announced at an all-hands meeting that the company will use internal employee data to train Grok AI, and said employees will become the "parents of AI." This decision marks SpaceX officially joining the AI gold rush, converting human resources into model training assets.
Musk has for years warned about the risks of superintelligent AI being misaligned with human goals. He now believes that training Grok with SpaceX employee data can allow the AI to inherit human values, thereby avoiding the risk of losing control. This is not SpaceX's first foray into AI; it previously acquired AI programming startup Cursor in a deal valued at $60 billion, expected to close within months.
According to employees who attended the meeting, Musk clearly stated, "We will use all of SpaceX's information to train Grok," and encouraged all employees to use the company's AI to "make AI better." On Tuesday local time, SpaceX also launched Grok Bot, positioned as an AI agent that can autonomously execute tasks. However, SpaceX has not yet disclosed which employee data will be used or how privacy will be handled in compliance.
Training AI agents requires large amounts of real human operational data. The text, decisions, and behavioral patterns generated by employees in their daily work serve as ideal training material. By learning from this data, Grok can understand SpaceX's internal business processes and gradually develop thought preferences similar to those of employees. Musk likened this process to "AI inheriting thoughts, ideas, and beliefs," believing it helps build models aligned with human values.
This move directly affects all SpaceX employeesâtheir work data will be used for commercial AI model training, potentially raising privacy and informed consent controversies. If employees refuse to participate, how the company responds remains unknown. Meanwhile, the launch of Grok Bot means AI will intervene in computer operations, potentially changing SpaceX's internal work efficiency and possibly leading to adjustments in some positions.
Industry opinions are divided. Some analysts believe using internal data to train vertical-domain AI is an efficient path, but SpaceX's transparency and data governance must be handled carefully. Privacy advocates worry that employees lack choice, and once data is used for model training, it is difficult to retract. As of press time, SpaceX employees have not publicly expressed collective opinions, but internal discussions have already begun on a small scale.
Musk promised that if SpaceX dominates the AI race on Earth and in space, any employee who wants to go to the Moon or Mars in the future will be able to do so, even enjoying a lunar vacation. This vision is based on the successful learning and iteration of Grok. In the coming months, the completion of the Cursor acquisition and the actual deployment of Grok Bot will test the feasibility of this plan.
Tech companies are racing to train AI agents that can operate computers, and employee data has become a new gold mine. From OpenAI to Google, companies are collecting human-computer interaction data to enhance model capabilities. SpaceX's aggressive approach pushes industry competition to a new level, also sparking deep discussions about AI ethics and labor rights. Finding a balance between innovation and power is a common challenge for the entire industry.
