Twitter CEO Elon Musk continued to promote the value of being a Twitter Blue subscriber on Monday, suggesting new features will help fend off artificial intelligence bots aiming to take over the platform.
Musk, who purchased Twitter in October for $44 billion announced early on that to have a blue check mark next to one’s username, they would have to subscribe to Twitter Blue.
The new subscription service was first announced to cost $8 per month, though it has increased to $11 for users who access Twitter using an iPhone or iPad.
TWITTER WILL DO AWAY WITH LEGACY BLUE CHECKS SOON
Twitter Verified said last Thursday that the platform would begin winding down the legacy verified program and start removing legacy verified check marks beginning on April 1.
Only those who subscribe to Twitter Blue will get a check mark, but Musk also pointed to some other perks for signing up.
"Starting on April 15, only verified accounts will be eligible to be in For You recommendations," he tweeted. "[This] is the only realistic way to address advanced AI bot swarms taking over. It is otherwise a hopeless losing battle. Voting in polls will require verification for same reason."
Twitter user @Videotech_ responded to Musk’s tweet, saying he cannot get behind the decision.
TWITTER BLUE DEADLINE APPROACHES, WHILE CELEBRITIES SCOFF AT MUSK'S PUSH TO PULL LEGACY CHECK MARKS
"You need to invest money into talent and AI tech to detect bots on the platform," @Videotech_ said. "This isn’t the way to go. It could tarnish the platform."
"My prediction is that this will be the only platform you can trust," Musk replied.
The billionaire helped found OpenAI in 2015, which is the AI research and deployment company behind ChatGPT.
Just last week, Musk tweeted a meme of Elmo from "Sesame Street" with a shocked look on the puppet’s face.
"Me realizing AI, the most powerful tool that mankind has ever created, is now in the hands of a ruthless corporate monopoly," Musk said. "I’m sure it will be fine."
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Musk was referring to Microsoft, which invested $10 billion into OpenAI, and his comments came after the AI company announced rollouts of its product to travel sites like Expedia and Kayak, as well as restaurant reservation site, OpenTable.
