Bill Maher And Elon Musk Trade Notes On Wokeness, Cancel Culture And AI’s Potential Dangers

deadline.com:

Elon Musk and Bill Maher found common ground on Friday’s Real Time on HBO. Both have been damned if they do and damned if they don’t for various controversies.

After a long recitation of Musk’s various business activities, Maher said he knows that Musk is okay because he does things with a sense of humor, as opposed to Facebook head Mark Zuckerberg, of whom Maher said he’s not even sure if he’s a real boy.

In turn, the Twitter head allowed that he’s been a longtime fan of Maher, and even once sat in the show’s live audience. “I’ve had it from both sides,” Maher said. “We’re called conservatives, but who haven’t really changed.” Musk agreed. “I think of myself as a moderate,” he said, listing his work accomplishments with electric vehicles, high-storage batteries, and solar energy. “That’s not exactly far right.” The problem, they agreed, can be traced to wokeness, which is “the opposite of liberal,” Maher said.

Musk noted that free speech used to be a left-liberal value. “Now we see a desire to actually censor.” He added, “We should be extremely concerned about anything that undermines the First Amendment.” Musk added that the trend goes beyond the domestic borders. “In many parts of the world that you think are similar to the US, the speech laws are Draconian.” Free speech, Musk said, is only relevant “when it’s someone you don’t like.