Elon Musk announces early access to xAI’s chatbot ‘Grok’ for X subscribers
In a recent flurry of tweets, Elon Musk has unveiled that his AI venture, xAI, is on the brink of launching its proprietary chatbot, Grok.
Late Friday, Musk teased his followers with the prospect of this new AI model, which the company has been quietly building and has now trademarked.
Musk disclosed that Grok is designed for conversational question-answering, harnessing “real-time access” to the X database.
However, he suggested that Grok might somewhat flirt with answering certain sensitive or illicit questions, indicating a dash of humor in its programming.
Musk gave the below examples about synthesizing cocaine, so who knows what crazy stuff will tease out of it once released.
xAI’s Grok system is designed to have a little humor in its responses pic.twitter.com/WqXxlwI6ef
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 4, 2023
Musk joked that Grok was ‘based and sarcastic,’ which was his own doing.
Grok has real-time access to info via the 𝕏 platform, which is a massive advantage over other models.
It’s also based & loves sarcasm. I have no idea who could have guided it this way 🤷♂️ 🤣 pic.twitter.com/e5OwuGvZ3Z
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 4, 2023
Subscribers of X’s Premium Plus at $16 a month for an ad-free experience will receive early access to Grok as it progresses beyond its initial beta phase, as tweeted by Musk at the weekend.
As soon as it’s out of early beta, xAI’s Grok system will be available to all X Premium+ subscribers
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 4, 2023
While specifics on Grok remain sparse, it’s part of a grander scheme within xAI, Musk’s startup, which intends to “unravel the mysteries of the universe.”
Musk’s also said he’s committed to building what he terms a “maximum-truth-seeking AI.”
Whether Grok embodies this vision remains to be seen, but Musk has confidently stated that “in some important respects, it (xAI’s new model) is the best that currently exists.”
Critics are already blasting Grok as a gimmick designed to raise subscription revenue for X, which has crashed under Musk’s leadership.
Others have said the sarcasm and humor make it more challenging to find genuinely useful info. There is a saying, “sarcasm is the lowest form of wit.”
However, many support the chatbot’s confrontation of topics that ‘woke AI’ like ChatGPT would likely decline to answer altogether.
Everyone is eager to see what other tricks Grok offers.
