1d ago

xAI removes the distinction between researcher and engineer titles, unifying all technical staff under the single designation of engineer across the company

Elon Musk called the old system a two-tier academic convention.

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@iScienceLuvr Putting “Ph.D.” in your social media name is a sure sign of a pompous retard

Tanishq Mathew Abraham, Ph.D.Tanishq Mathew Abraham, Ph.D.@iScienceLuvr

This sort of mindset is probably why xAI failed to catch up to other frontier labs. If he wants to make SpaceXAI into a frontier lab, hope he changes his mindset. Though being a cloud provider is probably something they can easily excel in anyway lol (Colossus is impressive!)

8:46 PM · May 24, 2026 · 1.8M Views
11:55 PM · May 24, 2026 · 3.5M Views

People who don’t understand science think Elon is a genius.

People who do understand science realize he is not.

Parmita MishraParmita Mishra@parmita

This is the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen in my life

9:40 AM · May 24, 2026 · 2.3M Views
7:05 PM · May 24, 2026 · 298K Views

he’s not dumb and certainly his IQ is above average but as I wrote somewhere before “I think that Musk has consistently made a dumb set of choices - largely stemming from a mix of four cognitive errors: (a) overestimating his own intelligence, (b) undervaluing the expertise of others, (c) relying too much on his own echo chamber, without the slightest effort to question what he is fed, and (d) underestimating how hard some of his errors will be to fix.”

Gary MarcusGary Marcus@GaryMarcus

People who don’t understand science think Elon is a genius. People who do understand science realize he is not.

7:05 PM · May 24, 2026 · 298K Views
8:48 PM · May 24, 2026 · 21.7K Views

hilarious how all the objections to this post about how elon understands engineering better than science point to elon’s engineering accomplishments, rather than his (meager) record of scientific innovation.

people who understand science get my point; people who don’t, don’t. 🤣

Gary MarcusGary Marcus@GaryMarcus

People who don’t understand science think Elon is a genius. People who do understand science realize he is not.

7:05 PM · May 24, 2026 · 298K Views
10:47 PM · May 24, 2026 · 11.3K Views

i disagree. but it’s up there!

Parmita MishraParmita Mishra@parmita

This is the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen in my life

9:40 AM · May 24, 2026 · 2.3M Views
6:43 PM · May 24, 2026 · 790 Views

TBH the "core" stuff: imagining what has not been imagined, listening to you intuition to make it a tangible achievement under the constraints of reality, this is the same for both methinks.

François FleuretFrançois Fleuret@francoisfleuret

IMO a researcher studies a problem that may not be solvable, while an engineer solves a problem that is considered solvable.

6:01 PM · May 24, 2026 · 109.7K Views
9:38 PM · May 24, 2026 · 4.1K Views

IMO a researcher studies a problem that may not be solvable, while an engineer solves a problem that is considered solvable.

Yacine MahdidYacine Mahdid@yacinelearning
6:29 PM · May 23, 2026 · 165.8K Views
6:01 PM · May 24, 2026 · 109.7K Views

This sort of mindset is probably why xAI failed to catch up to other frontier labs.

If he wants to make SpaceXAI into a frontier lab, hope he changes his mindset.

Though being a cloud provider is probably something they can easily excel in anyway lol (Colossus is impressive!)

Parmita MishraParmita Mishra@parmita

This is the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen in my life

9:40 AM · May 24, 2026 · 2.3M Views
8:46 PM · May 24, 2026 · 1.8M Views

A very good way of putting it.

François FleuretFrançois Fleuret@francoisfleuret

IMO a researcher studies a problem that may not be solvable, while an engineer solves a problem that is considered solvable.

6:01 PM · May 24, 2026 · 109.7K Views
9:48 PM · May 24, 2026 · 4.8K Views

@elonmusk @iScienceLuvr Finishing PhD is an anti-signal in many cases.

If you didn't learn to go to drop out go to industry and build real things, then you are probably too theory-pilled

Elon MuskElon Musk@elonmusk

@iScienceLuvr Putting “Ph.D.” in your social media name is a sure sign of a pompous retard

11:55 PM · May 24, 2026 · 3.5M Views
1:20 AM · May 25, 2026 · 84.6K Views

In this way most people with the title of researcher are not doing research. And I think often the ROI from these “researchers” is higher.

François FleuretFrançois Fleuret@francoisfleuret

IMO a researcher studies a problem that may not be solvable, while an engineer solves a problem that is considered solvable.

6:01 PM · May 24, 2026 · 109.7K Views
8:58 PM · May 24, 2026 · 2.1K Views
xAI removes the distinction between researcher and engineer titles, unifying all technical staff under the single designation of engineer across the company · Digg