Tech billionaire Elon Musk has once again turned heads, this time by announcing that his AI company, xAI, is working to develop a version of software-giant Microsoft run exclusively on artificial intelligence. 

“Join @xAI and help build a purely AI software company called Macrohard,” Musk posted to his social network X. “It’s a tongue-in-cheek name, but the project is very real!”

While Musk has had a long history of trolling or making proclamations that have never come to fruition, there was some evidence that Macrohard was more than just an online joke. 

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office website showed that xAI filed a trademark request for “macrohard” on Aug. 1, 2025. 

The application requested exclusive use of the Macrohard name in the arena of “downloadable computer programs and downloadable computer software.”  

In his post, Musk explained why he believed an exclusively AI software company was a realistic possibility. 

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“In principle, given that software companies like Microsoft do not themselves manufacture any physical hardware, it should be possible to simulate them entirely with AI,” he wrote.

Were Macrohard to become its own company, completely AI-run or not, it would become just the latest in a long list of Musk-led ventures, including xAI, Tesla, The Boring Company, SpaceX, Neuralink, and X Corp, according to Business Insider.

Across his many ambitious projects, Musk increasingly has placed his focus on artificial intelligence and robotics. 

Despite Tesla‘s being the No. 1 maker of EVs in the United States, Musk famously has said that Tesla’s self-driving technology was “the difference between Tesla being worth a lot of money and being worth basically zero,” per The Washington Post.  

Further, at a 2024 Tesla shareholder meeting, Musk boasted that he believed the company’s Optimus robot could one day lead the company to a $25 trillion market capitalization, CNBC reported at the time. 

As CNBC pointed out, when Musk made these remarks, the market capitalization for the entire S&P 500 was $45.5 trillion. 

Musk himself has admitted to being “pathologically optimistic,” per CNBC, about his own projects.

It’s difficult to assess the potential energy impact of using AI to create an entire software company and operating system to compete with Microsoft. It may require a lot of energy and cooling resources for data centers to accomplish, though as is always the case with AI, if an AI project can save significant human time that could include human resources such as commuting, food, and drink that could be applied toward enabling people to do other work, at some point the scale can tip — of course, as long as the ends justify the means with a functional product. 

In many cases, people have cited that AI has appeared impressive only to produce many flaws under the surface that rendered its use fruitless for a particular project. A famous example is a viral X post in which user @vasumanmoza jokingly summarized the results of using AI to refactor a code base: “It modularized everything. Broke up monoliths. Cleaned up spaghetti,” they wrote.

“None of it worked. But boy was it beautiful.”

While only time will tell whether Macrohard or some other exclusively AI-run software company poses a risk to the future of tech behemoths like Microsoft, one thing seems certain: Musk will continue to put his significant financial clout and social capital behind AI and robotics. 

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Children as young as 11 feel tempted to try betting after being “flooded” by celebrities and sports stars promoting it, according to two reports that found nearly 90% of children aged 13-17 are exposed to gambling content online.

The UK’s leading gambling charity, GambleAware, which commissioned the reports, urged regulators and policymakers to address social media accounts and influencers producing betting content on platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and Twitch in light of the findings.

In one survey of 2,100 children aged 11-17, a quarter said seeing a celebrity gambling, or advertising it, had made them want to follow suit, rising to more than a third (36%) among boys aged 16-17.

This was despite the fact that almost four in five children agreed that nobody under the age of 18 should be exposed to content and advertising about gambling. The legal age to bet is 18.

In a second study, based on focus groups with children aged 13-17, 16% reported seeing content creators sharing links and sign-up codes for gambling operators, while 14% reported seeing them sharing betting tips and tricks.

The reports warned about content produced by mainstream UK operators as well as unlicensed sites promoting newer or unregulated products associated with video games such as “skins betting” and “loot boxes”.

Both involve the use of in-game digital items that have value to players and can be traded, staked or won via mechanisms that replicate real-life gambling.

Niks Kolosnicins, 24, developed a gambling addiction that severely disrupted his schoolwork and lasted into his university years.

“I used to see a huge amount of gambling ads when watching online streamers and esports – and with my favourite influencers promoting gambling, and many of my friends regularly betting, gambling became normalised for me,” he said.

Children who contributed to the study referred to seeing well-known sports stars in gambling content.

The Labour MP Beccy Cooper, who has called for a new gambling act to replace 2005 legislation introduced under Tony Blair’s government, said existing laws were “failing to protect children from online gambling marketing where influencers portray gambling as socially acceptable or aspirational”.

She added that “future generations should look back on this era of proliferation, targeting and sports gamblification with the same level of disbelief”.

The Liberal Democrat peer Don Foster described the report as “extremely concerning” and called for greater scrutiny of gambling advertising.

Heather Wardle, a professor of gambling research and policy at Glasgow University, said content seen at an early age can mean that gambling becomes “embedded deeply within social practices”.

“Evidence shows there is a real risk of escalating harms among this already higher-risk age group,” she added.

The previous government and Labour have taken steps to tighten up elements of gambling regulation – including cutting the maximum stake on online slot machines to £5 – but have stopped short of strict curbs on advertising.

Zoe Osmond, the chief executive of GambleAware, said: “It is unacceptable that children’s environments continue to be flooded with age-restricted content.”

A Department for Culture, Media and Sport spokesperson said: “We recognise the impact harmful gambling can have on individuals and their families, and we are absolutely committed to strengthening protections for those at risk, including children and young people.

“There are already a range of robust rules in place on gambling adverts, including rules to ensure adverts are not targeted at or strongly appeal to children.

“We will continue to work closely with the gambling industry to ensure that advertising is appropriate, responsible, and does not exacerbate harm.”

The Guardian approached the Betting and Gaming Council for comment.