Elon Musk has claimed that the US government had "complete access" to private messages exchanged on Twitter, a fact that he admitted "astounded" him. In an interview with Tucker Carlson of Fox News, which will air in two parts on Monday and Tuesday evenings, Musk discussed his surprise at the extent of government surveillance on the platform.

Musk told Carlson, "The extent to which government agencies effectively had full access to everything happening on Twitter astounded me." When asked whether this included users' direct messages, Musk confirmed, "Yes," without providing further details.

In another segment of the interview, Musk highlighted the potential dangers of artificial intelligence (AI), suggesting that it could pose a threat to civilization. He explained that AI is more dangerous than flawed aircraft design, poor vehicle production, or inadequate maintenance because it has the "potential for civilizational destruction," even if the probability is considered small.

Last fall, Musk acquired Twitter for $44 billion and subsequently laid off over 70% of the company's employees. He pledged to allow almost unrestricted speech on the platform and aimed to expose the site's previous management for its connections to government agencies that demanded the flagging or banning of specific content.

A group of journalists, said to be sympathetic to Musk, released a series of internal documents known as the "Twitter Files." These documents exposed the extent to which Twitter's former management suppressed content, such as The Post's reporting on the Hunter Biden laptop. Journalist Matt Taibbi, who examined emails and comments from ex-Twitter employees, revealed that the decision to censor The Post's story was made at the company's highest level.

Taibbi's reporting also exposed Twitter's consultation with various government agencies before deciding to ban former President Donald Trump from the platform in the aftermath of the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. In another explosive report, Taibbi revealed the CIA's involvement in Twitter's content moderation for years.

As AI-powered bots like ChatGPT demonstrate human-like capabilities to generate ideas and replicate language, Musk has expressed concern about the rapid advancement of AI. Last week, the Financial Times reported that Musk is assembling a team of engineers to develop a generative AI project that would rival ChatGPT and its creator, Silicon Valley startup OpenAI.

Musk, an OpenAI co-founder who later left the company, co-signed a letter with hundreds of tech experts last month, urging a halt to AI research and development due to potential risks such as the spread of misinformation, job losses, the development of "nonhuman minds" that could surpass and replace humans, and the possibility of losing control over civilization.