Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis made an appearance at the “People Power” exhibition, where he took aim at Elon Musk after photographer Platon asked him about artificial intelligence, presenting a photo he had taken of the owner of platform X. The Greek Prime Minister used the analogy of a faulty airplane, saying that “the person who built it keeps it grounded until they find the problem and fix it. Humanity has reached its greatest technological achievement — artificial intelligence — yet there is no one to govern it, and we are waiting for Elon Musk to do so. Will he do it right? I have my doubts. Is it ethical for the richest man on the planet to donate $440 million to fund an election campaign?” he questioned. Platon has included the Prime Minister’s portrait in his exhibition currently hosted at the Benaki Museum.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: “The… AI companions”
Kyriakos Mitsotakis has spoken out on numerous occasions about artificial intelligence, as well as about the decision to ban social media for minors. In his own notes, Platon emphasized that the most valuable commodity over the next five to ten years will be human connection. He also joked about a ringing phone, saying “it’s Elon Musk calling,” with the Prime Minister playing along, adding that he “would certainly not use that platform.”
The Prime Minister used a pointed observation to illustrate the loss of human experience, noting that “people go somewhere and take a photo to preserve the experience, yet in taking the photo, they lose the experience itself.” He also remarked that there are now people who “have AI companions. They don’t complain to them, they don’t tell them to do the dishes, they don’t ask for anything.”
Photographer Platon thanked Kyriakos Mitsotakis “for the service you have given to your country,” stating that “there are not many politicians who have done what you have done,” and asked the audience to applaud him for “your courage.”
The Prime Minister thanked Platon, who also admitted with a laugh that he had told a small lie — claiming to be “the best photographer in the world” when he first met Kyriakos Mitsotakis — in order to secure the portrait. “I thought we would talk about Trump and Putin, but instead we talked about human connection and communication,” the photographer remarked, while the Prime Minister encouraged the guests to “enjoy the film.”
