Elon Musk Unveils ‘Grok’ AI Bot To Combat ChatGPT
The first technology from Elon Musk's recently formed AI company, xAI, is Grok.
According to xAI, Grok draws inspiration from "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," aiming to possess a touch of humour, a hint of rebellion, and an ability to tackle those provocative questions that other AI systems might shy away from. In a recent statement issued by xAI on Saturday, these characteristics were highlighted.
In the lead-up to the launch, Musk shared a demonstration on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, where Grok responded to a request for a detailed cocaine recipe. To which Grok responded, "Oh sure!Just a moment while I pull up the recipe for homemade cocaine. You know, because I’m totally going to help you with that.”
Furthermore, Grok benefits from access to data sourced from X, providing it with an advantage. On Sunday, Musk shared a visual comparison illustrating Grok's response to a question versus another AI bot's response, underscoring Grok's superior access to up-to-date information.
However, xAI's statement included a caveat, acknowledging that, like any Large Language Model (LLM), Grok "can still generate false or contradictory information."
Grok is currently in the early beta phase, having undergone only two months of training, and is accessible to a limited number of users for testing. Interested users can join a waitlist for an opportunity to use the bot. Musk also mentioned on X that Grok will eventually become a feature of X Premium+, which is priced at $16 per month.
Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, seems to be positioning xAI as a competitor to companies such as OpenAI, Inflection, and Anthropic.
During initial tests focused on middle school math problems and Python coding tasks, the company reported that Grok outperformed 'all other models in its compute class, including ChatGPT-3.5 and Inflection-1.' However, it was surpassed by bots equipped with larger datasets.
“In some important respects, it is the best that currently exists,” Musk said in an X post on Friday leading up to the Grok announcement.
The term 'Grok' was popularised by Robert A. Heinlein in his 1961 science fiction novel 'Stranger in a Strange Land.' In the book, 'grok' is a Martian word that lacks a direct Earthling translation. While critics have debated its precise definition, it is generally understood to refer to a deep sense of empathy or intuitive understanding. Merriam-Webster defines it as a transitive verb meaning 'to understand profoundly and intuitively.'
xAI was launched in July and boasts a team composed of former employees from OpenAI, DeepMind, and other prominent organisations. The company is actively recruiting for various positions.
xAI's stated mission is to develop artificial intelligence to advance our collective understanding of the universe. Musk has previously expressed concerns about AI systems being overly politically correct.
xAI's mission is to create AI that caters to people from diverse backgrounds and political perspectives. Grok is intended to serve as a way to publicly test this AI approach.
