Oracle-powered Tesla Cybertruck police vehicle among Larry Ellison's visions for future

The billionaire called generative AI a 'revolution' that is fundamentally changing things

Larry Ellison, co-founder and chief technology officer of Oracle, presents a concept design of a Tesla Cybertruck police vehicle during the Oracle CloudWorld conference in Las Vegas. Photo: YouTube / OracleShow less

Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison has laid out the company's visions for a highly-connected and a fail-safe future and this might include a specifically-configured Tesla Cybertruck for law enforcement and public safety.

The billionaire, who has repeatedly said he is a "close friend" of Tesla chief executive Elon Musk, unveiled a concept Cybertruck decked with sirens and Oracle branding at the Oracle CloudWorld conference in Las Vegas on Tuesday.

"Our next-generation police car is coming out very soon. It's my favourite police car. It's my favourite car actually; it's Elon's favourite car," Mr Ellison said.

"It's incredible; I don't know too much about it ... but, among other things, it's very safe, very fast, it's got a stainless steel body.

"And we don't have to add cameras to it because we actually use their existing cameras and screen to put our application on it."

The Tesla Cybertruck was unveiled by Mr Musk about four years ago. He has signalled that the uniquely-designed vehicle with sharp angles – whose "bulletproof" windows infamously failed a durability test – will begin sales by the end of 2024.

Mr Ellison did not provide further details.

His presentation of the special Cybertruck was part of Oracle's new first responder system, which uses satellite and terrestrial technologies to ensure that it will be a fail-safe mobile network.

"We need better support for our first responders. We built an audiovisual network that always works and never fails," Mr Ellison said.

He referenced the Maui wildfires that started on August 8 and killed about 100 people, saying that one of the reasons that escalated the tragedy was that the cellular network failed.

Oracle's new network "will never fail", as both its satellite and terrestrial networks run simultaneously and back each other up, Mr Ellison added.

"For first responders, the network is not allowed to fail."

The first responder system was among a number of announcements and updates made by Oracle at its conference.

Generative AI a 'revolution'

Mr Ellison, who stepped down as Oracle chief executive in 2014 and is currently its chief technology officer and executive chairman, also lauded the potential of generative artificial intelligence, calling it a "revolution".

"Oracle's been using AI for a very, very long time, for many years. But this is different; generative AI is a revolution. It's a breakthrough. It's transformation. It's fundamentally changing things," he continued.

For Oracle, the effect is more direct. "This makes AI essential to almost everything we're doing. And it fundamentally changes how we build applications, how we run applications," Mr Ellison stated.

He also mirrored the concerns and potential risks revolving around generative AI, noting that no technology has ever caught the attention of governments and other groups like it has.

"Unlike most events in technology, most cool new tech does not get the attention of heads of state and everyday people in other professions," Mr Ellison said.

But generative AI "raised the concerns of AI professionals who were concerned about the risks this new technology poses".

Among the groups sceptical of the use of this technology include writers, evidenced by a May strike fuelled in part by concerns that AI might put them out of their jobs, and artists, who claim intellectual property rights are being violated and the lack of originality from AI-generated art.

"Who's going to write the next great script in Hollywood? It might be some guy you know, or some computer you don't," Mr Ellison said.

He does, however, believe that generative AI will ultimately be for the better, while also reminding AI builders to take all potential risks into account to build more reliable models.

"Like all new technologies, from fire, spears and nuclear power, they can be misused," Mr Ellison said.

"However, by and large, advances in technology that made our lives better has made us, as human beings, more prosperous and more comfortable."

Earlier in the day, Oracle chief executive Safra Catz had said that the current momentum of AI has created "the single most exciting period in technology in decades".