TLDR: why @xai is the place for free thinkers, as my recent encounter with another frontier lab demonstrated.

I recently gave birth to my baby boy and, even though I’m taking a break to focus on motherhood, an opportunity at one of the major frontier labs came knocking on my door. I didn’t end up joining, as detailed below, but I did end up with a newly found conviction that xAI is truly a special place. Here’s why:

I joined xAI in the fall of 2023, when there were just 15 people at the company. It was a dream come true, where sitting in what we called, “The Bunker,” felt more science fiction than fact. After all, we’d set out to build an AI that would understand the universe! I often felt like I was taking up a valuable seat in that small windowless room, but when I’d offer to move to a corner of the room because my seat felt too central, my doubts were quickly countered with, “No, you can sit here.” I still think back to those days with immense nostalgia, sad that it’s a thing of the past, happy that it happened at all.

The founding team was extremely welcoming and kind. These were insanely accomplished people who continued to work hard, and they were walking proof that true intelligence makes you kinder and humbler, rather than the opposite. I remember when @rpoo welcomed me on my first day, with two small potted plants in hand because he wanted to give the windowless bunker some life. And when @TheGregYang, nicknamed, Big Rizz, started calling me, Lil Rizz, because he’s one of the most fun people I’ve ever met. I fondly remember the night before Grok 1’s release, when the office lights in the SF office had gone off and we sat in the dark into the night. Ross ordered some takeout to sustain us. Nothing could stop this team.

I also observed countless examples of humility from @elonmusk, not once have I seen him act entitled. One of my favorite anecdotes from him is how he went out to buy toilet paper for his employees during covid, because nothing is beneath him.

Now back to my recent encounter with one of the major frontier labs. After I made the difficult decision to resign from xAI due to my late-stage pregnancy, I’ve since been focusing on my newborn. But I happened to receive a recruiting email from one of the labs and decided to chat because, I believe the technical term is, “why the fuck not.” I got through a few rounds and the last round left me with a bad taste in my mouth. When I asked the interviewer and her shadower what they loved most about their jobs, the response was, “Our team is made up of mostly women and we enjoy going to each other’s desks to chat.”

Um, what?! Here I was expecting to hear something along the lines of: “We are changing the world and our work really matters.” But nope. Their priorities had me like 🤨. That’s when I knew this wouldn’t be a fit for me. Why was it okay for them to say this? Would it have been okay to say, “I’m so glad most of the team is male?” Nope. I certainly wouldn’t want to join a place that thinks too much about the gender rather than the brains of the people they work with.

And that’s why xAI is so different. It’s a no-bullshit place where critical thinking is welcome even if it is unpopular. Elon believes in this deeply and it shows. He repeatedly encouraged us to be the Galileo’s of our time. As I sit here holding my baby, I’m wondering how to raise him to be a free thinker, it is the most important tool I can give him, one that my parents gave me. Though I often wonder, of course, how my own thinking may be wrong.

I’m forever grateful to have been a part of the company from such an early stage and to have seen it grow. Perhaps our paths will cross again.

Pictured: First team visit to the data center, I’m in the white shorts 😆

I also want to thank @ibab @jimmybajimmyba @Faruletes @Yuhu_ai_ @TobyPhln and the rest of the founding team for welcoming me so early. You’ve made a positive impact on my life and I think back to all the memories with a smile.

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