Elon Musk at Cannes Lions 2024: Free speech, AI, and the future of marketing

Cannes: In a conversation with Mark Read, CEO of WPP, Elon Musk addressed a range of topics relevant to the advertising and marketing industry, including free speech, the potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI), and the future of advertising.

At Cannes Lions 2024, Musk reiterated his commitment to making X “a global free speech platform,” even with advertising revenue at stake. 

Emphasising his belief in the importance of open discourse, Musk stated, “We need a platform where people can express a wide range of views. While this might lead to some discomfort and potentially lost advertising revenue, we believe free speech is a fundamental right.”

Read represented the perspective of advertisers, emphasising the importance of brand safety. “We understand the value of free speech, but advertisers have a legitimate concern about the content their brands are associated with.”

Musk acknowledged this concern, stating, “There's a difference between free speech and forcing content on people. Advertisers have a right to choose the environments in which their brands appear.”

This exchange highlighted the ongoing tension between free speech and the need for content moderation, a challenge that X and other social media platforms continue to grapple with.

Achieving effective advertising, according to Musk, can be better explained as: “If you're shown an ad for a product or service that you want, when you want it, that is content. If you're shown an ad for a product that you never buy, that is bad.”

As the conversation moved to the hot industry debate of advertising and tech, Musk explained how X plans to leverage AI. He touted the platform's use of AI for advanced user targeting. 

“We’re utilising AI to understand users on a deeper level than ever before. This allows us to create a profile for each user, essentially mapping their interests and needs. We can then do the same for content, both organic and advertising. By matching these profiles, we can deliver ads that are truly relevant to users, as opposed to simply spamming them.”

This data-driven approach, according to Musk, promises to usher in a new era of targeted advertising, creating a more efficient and effective ecosystem for both advertisers and consumers. 

What stands out as X’s UVP for advertisers is its unparalleled reach among influential figures. “If you want to reach the most influential people on the planet, X is the place to be. CEOs, politicians, thought leaders – they're all actively engaged on our platform.”

Delving into the broader implications of AI development, Musk painted a picture of a future heavily influenced by AI. “We may be on the cusp of an age of abundance where AI handles the bulk of the work, allowing humans to pursue their passions. Work may become optional, not a necessity.”

Musk then discussed the broader implications of AI, venturing beyond advertising. “If the AI can provide you with a better answer than a bunch of links, then you’ll prefer that over Google or Bing,” he said, outlining a potential future for search engines. “It is a significant disruption in search.”

The conversation shifted to the news industry. Read inquired, “What about the news business? Who's going to pay for the content on which these models are created?”

Speaking on his vision for a new model of news consumption through X, Musk said, “What we’re doing on the X platform is aggregating. We’re using AI to sum up the aggregated input from millions of users. This is really going to be the new model of news, which is to gather information from people who are at the scene, who are experts in the field, and aggregate that into a real-time news feed. And I think for the most part, that will be better than conventional journalism.”

However, Musk noted, “There's a real risk involved. If AI surpasses us intellectually, it could pose an existential threat.” Therefore, “we need to train AI to be truthful and inherently curious,” he stated. “An AI that prioritises truth will be less likely to mislead or manipulate us.”

He added, “X gets tens of millions of posts per day, which really are all the news content on Earth, but far more than what you’d find in a newspaper. If you aggregate that in real-time, you've got real-time aggregation of the collective wisdom of tens of millions of people.”

While “there's still a role for conventional news, it's going to get smaller and smaller over time. It's really what AI is doing and what the Internet is doing is aggregating the wisdom of the people.”

Musk also touched upon OpenAI, the research company he co-founded, originally intended as a counterpoint to Google's dominance in AI. “OpenAI's mission remains the same – to ensure safe and beneficial AI for all,” he said, acknowledging the company's shift towards closed-source development.

As the conversation concluded, Musk offered a final piece of advice directed at the young innovators in the audience. “Embrace AI; it’s the cornerstone of success in the coming era. But before building anything, truly understand how people will use it.”