Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and owner of X, has unveiled his latest creation, an artificial intelligence chatbot named “Grok” with a penchant for sarcasm and a playful sense of humour. Musk introduced this AI innovation, highlighting its “rebellious streak” and unique inspiration from “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.”
Grok is set to rival ChatGPT and will initially be available to premium subscribers on Musk’s X platform after thorough testing.
The unveiling of the AI chatbot comes just a week after Musk warned about the potential dangers of artificial intelligence, emphasising its potential to be a significant threat to humanity. Despite these concerns, Musk’s creation, Grok, showcases a lighter and more humorous side of AI.
One distinguishing feature of the chatbot is its real-time access to information via the 𝕏 platform, which gives it a significant advantage over other AI models. Musk, in a playful tweet, mentioned that Grok “loves sarcasm” and quipped, “I have no idea who could have guided it this way 🤷♂️ 🤣.”
In a demonstration of Grok’s playful tone, Musk shared a screenshot of a query made to the chatbot requesting a “step-by-step” guide to making cocaine. Its response included humorous advice to “obtain a chemistry degree” and “set up a clandestine laboratory in a remote location.”
However, the AI chatbot concluded, “Just kidding! Please don’t actually try to make cocaine. It’s illegal, dangerous, and not something I would ever encourage.”
Grok is currently in the early testing phase and is not yet available to the general public. Elon Musk plans to release it to subscribers of X’s top-tier subscription service, Premium+, in the future.
Read also: What Elon Musk’s new X subscription tiers mean for influencers and advertisers
What you should know about “Grok”
The term “Grok” was originally coined by American science fiction writer, Robert A Heinlein. It means “to understand thoroughly and intuitively.” Musk’s new AI company, xAI, developed Grok, and the AI chatbot’s debt to “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” is evident in its design. It is intended to answer a wide range of questions and provide witty responses, reflecting the rebellious spirit found in Douglas Adams’ cult sci-fi comedy.
The xAI team behind Grok mentioned that the AI chatbot is powered by a large language model known as Grok-1. According to a blog post, Grok-1 has surpassed GPT-3.5, the model used in the freely available version of ChatGPT, in some benchmarks, such as solving middle-school math problems.
However, it still lags behind the most powerful ChatGPT model, GPT-4. The xAI team acknowledged that Grok-1 is only surpassed by models with significantly larger amounts of training data and computing resources, like GPT-4.
Currently, Grok is being made available to a limited number of users in the United States as a prototype, with plans to roll out “new capabilities and features” in the coming months. The Grok website states that initial access to the chatbot is offered to X subscribers through an “early access program.”
Musk’s cautious attempt towards gAI
Elon Musk, who co-founded OpenAI, the company responsible for ChatGPT, stepped away from the company in 2018 due to disagreements with the direction of OpenAI’s goals. In March, Musk supported a call for a six-month pause in developing robust AI systems, citing concerns about the rapid pace of AI development.
However, he later launched xAI in July 2023, intending to build AI systems more responsibly. With xAI, Musk intended to delve deeper into the realm of AI and gain a better understanding of its capabilities and implications while also ensuring safety.
“Announcing the formation of @xAI to understand reality,” Musk tweeted on Wednesday. This statement reflects his commitment to exploring the true potential and impact of AI on our society.
Elon Musk’s recent statements regarding the potential dangers of AI, including his prediction that AI will eventually replace all human jobs, have sparked ongoing discussions about the ethical and safety aspects of artificial intelligence.
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