Elon Musk debuts ‘Grok’ AI bot to rival ChatGPT, others

Technology
Monday, November 6th, 2023 1:17 am EDT

Key Points

  • Grok’s Unique Characteristics: Grok, developed by xAI, is designed to have a sense of wit and a rebellious streak. It is meant to answer unconventional or “spicy questions” that other AI systems might avoid. Elon Musk shared an example of Grok’s response to a request for a step-by-step cocaine recipe on X (formerly Twitter).
  • Performance and Availability: Grok is currently in its early beta phase, with only two months of training. It is available to a select group of users for testing, with a waitlist for potential users. Eventually, it will be part of X Premium+, a subscription service costing $16 per month. In initial tests, Grok outperformed models in its compute class, including ChatGPT-3.5 and Inflection-1, although it was surpassed by bots with larger data sets.
  • xAI’s Mission and Grok’s Role: xAI, founded by Elon Musk, aims to build AI that advances collective understanding of the universe. Grok is introduced as a means of testing a different approach to AI, one that is not overly “politically correct.” xAI’s mission is to create AI accessible to individuals of all backgrounds and political views, challenging other AI companies like OpenAI, Inflection, and Anthropic with Grok’s capabilities and characteristics.

Elon Musk’s new AI company, xAI, has introduced its first technology, Grok, which is described as having “a bit of wit” and a “rebellious streak.” Grok is designed to answer “spicy questions” that other AI systems might avoid. Elon Musk shared an example of Grok’s response to a request for a cocaine recipe on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. Grok also has access to data from X, giving it an advantage in providing up-to-date information.

However, xAI acknowledged that Grok, like other Large Language Models (LLMs), can still generate false or contradictory information. The prototype is currently in its early beta phase and is available to a limited number of users for testing, with a waitlist for potential users. In the future, Grok will be a feature of X Premium+, which costs $16 per month.

xAI is positioning itself as a challenger to companies like OpenAI, Inflection, and Anthropic. Grok has shown strong performance on initial tests, surpassing other models in its compute class, although it was outperformed by models with larger data sets.

Grok is named after the term coined by Robert A. Heinlein in his 1961 science fiction novel “Stranger in a Strange Land.” The term “grok” is defined as having deep empathy or intuition with something. xAI, launched in July, aims to create AI that is accessible to people of all backgrounds and political views, testing this approach with Grok in the public domain.

For the full original article on CNBC, please click here: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/05/elon-musk-debuts-grok-ai-bot-to-rival-chatgpt-others-.html