Elon Musk’s xAI Advisor Joins Scale AI to Strengthen AI Training Models
Elon Musk’s xAI advisor Dan Hendrycks joins Scale AI as an advisor, supporting the $14 billion data-labeling giant in AI model training.
Dan Hendrycks, a well-known AI safety advocate and advisor to Elon Musk’s AI startup, xAI, has taken on a new role at the exciting $14 billion company Scale AI.
His LinkedIn page says that he is now an advisor to the company. The company Scale AI labels data for businesses to train their AI models, but they did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
His LinkedIn page says that he is now an advisor to the company. The company Scale AI labels data for businesses to train their AI models, but they did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
As part of his new job, Hendrycks said, “We’ve been working together on research and testing the safety and abilities of models for the past year.” “Like other advisory roles, I don’t have any stock in the company.” This advisory job pays 12 times as much as my xAI job, or $12 a year instead of $1.
By adding Hendrycks as an advisor, Scale AI gets someone with connections in the AI industry. It could also help the business build stronger ties with the Trump administration.
Scale AI already has a connection to Michael Kratsios, who is the managing director of the company and used to be Trump’s chief technology officer. Politico recently said that Kratsios is now working on tech policy while Trump takes office.
Hendrycks, on the other hand, is friendly with Musk, who backed Trump during the election and is now in charge of a new Department of Government Efficiency. When Musk started xAI in 2023, Hendrycks began giving him advice about how to make AI safe.
Hendrycks Leads Fight Against AI Risks
Hendrycks is one of the most vocal opponents of AI’s possible dangers. He founded and runs the non-profit Center for AI Safety. These risks encompass the development of bioweapons by malicious individuals, the potential for more dangerous cyberattacks, and the possibility of autonomous AI agents going rogue.
This summer, Hendrycks got a lot of attention for his work on California’s SB-1047. The goal of the bill was to set safety and legal guidelines for the creation and use of advanced AI.
However, prominent figures in the tech industry, such as billionaire investor Marc Andreessen and AI pioneer Fei Fei Li, strongly opposed the proposed law, believing it would impede innovation. California state Sen. Scott Wiener used the “Jets vs. Sharks” feud to push the bill.
Even though the bill passed both the assembly and senate in California, Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed it in September. During the SB-1047 talks, Hendrycks faced criticism due to his investment in Gray Swan AI, a company primarily focused on developing tools to assess the risks associated with AI models.
Critics claimed he had a conflict of interest due to the bill’s requirement for affected companies to use auditing tools. In response, Hendrycks wrote on X that he was leaving Gray Swan and would keep working as an unpaid advisor.
