Indeed, Musk suggested that synthetic data — data generated by AI models themselves — is the path forward. “The only way to supplement [real-world data] is with synthetic data, where the AI creates [training data],” he said. “With synthetic data … [AI] will sort of grade itself and go through this process of self-learning.”

Musk dropped the lawsuit but filed another one against Altman and OpenAI, this time elevating his accusations to claim OpenAI worked with Microsoft, an investor, to create a monopoly. The billionaire also alleged the company violated its founding claim as a nonprofit by pursuing profit. OpenAI has denied the allegations.

“We’ve now exhausted basically the cumulative sum of human knowledge …. in AI training,” Musk said during a live-streamed conversation with Stagwell chairman Mark Penn streamed on X late Wednesday. “That happened basically last year.”

A lawyer for Elon Musk has called on the California and Delaware attorneys-general to force OpenAI to auction off a large stake in its business, intensifying a bitter fight with the company’s chief executive Sam Altman.