Elon Musk criticizes an xAI employee over a single term in job listing

Elon Musk criticizes an xAI employee over a single term in job listing

In a bold move, Elon Musk, the new owner of xAI (formerly Twitter), has decided to do away with the job title "researcher" for technical employees at the company. Musk believes that the term is outdated and creates a two-tier system that diminishes accountability. Instead, he insists that all technical staff be referred to as "engineers."

Musk's stance on this matter became evident when he publicly chastised an employee for using the term 'researcher' in a job advert. The employee, Aditya Gupta, has since corrected the job description to say they are looking for "solid engineers."

The change in job titles reflects Musk's vision for xAI, where he aims to promote a culture of accountability and erase perceived artificial hierarchy between research and engineering functions. This shift is reminiscent of SpaceX, where meaningful cutting-edge research is done but staff are not given the "researcher" label.

The job process at xAI for the AI Engineer & Researcher role involves a 15-minute phone interview, coding tests, an interview with a small audience of xAI employees, and training data for post-training. The salary for this position ranges from $180,000 to $440,000.

Unfortunately, the ethical AI research team at Twitter was among those hit by the subsequent mass firings and layoffs carried out by Musk. Other researchers at the company were also affected.

Interestingly, Musk's dislike of the term 'researcher' in the context of engineering can be traced back to his purchase of Twitter in October 2022.

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On a lighter note, if you're looking for a game that allows you to 'spend' Elon Musk's money, there are several available online. However, a Tesla diner that people are queuing to try has not been reviewed in the provided paragraphs.

[1] Source: [Link to the article mentioning Musk's stance on the term "researcher"] [2] Source: [Link to the article mentioning the internal job posting and Musk's response] [3] Source: [Link to the article mentioning Aditya Gupta correcting the job advert] [4] Source: [Link to the article mentioning Musk's emphasis on accountability and erasing hierarchy]

In line with Musk's emphasis on accountability and erasing perceived hierarchy, xAI's business model incorporates artificial-intelligence technology, with job positions such as AI Engineer & Researcher, who are expected to demonstrate leadership and technical expertise in finance, technology, and other relevant areas. It's worth noting that Musk's dislike of the term 'researcher' in the context of engineering can be traced back to his leadership role at xAI, following his purchase of the company in October 2022.

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