X launches Grok, a text-based AI chatbot with a rebellious streak, reflecting Musk’s sci-fi interests and distancing from profit-driven AI models like ChatGPT. Subscribers praise Grok’s wit and quirky persona, reminiscent of classic sci-fi literature.
Elon Musk’s company X has introduced a new AI chatbot named Grok, available through a subscription on their app and website. Users have to pay £19.20 monthly or £201.60 annually to access this chatbot as part of X’s Premium+ plan. Grok, which began its test phase with select subscribers in November, is lauded for its unique personality, capable of responding to a range of queries with wit and a rebellious streak. Unlike other AI such as Microsoft’s Bing AI and the premium version of ChatGPT, Grok is text-based and does not have the ability to generate images or speak.
The chatbot’s development and functionalities reflect Musk’s interest in sci-fi and his views on AI, embodying a quirky character, somewhat alien-like, as seen in Musk’s shared posts where Grok refers to users as “my dear human.” The chatbot concept resonates with themes from Robert A Heinlein’s novel “Stranger in a Strange Land” and Douglas Adams’ “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” from which the bot’s name and persona seemingly draw inspiration.
Musk has distanced his efforts from OpenAI, the creators of ChatGPT, despite being one of the co-founders. He criticizes the company’s profit-driven scope, contrasting with his vision for AI, emphasizing safety and inclusivity over profits. Despite using less training data, X’s Grok is said to achieve comparable performance to other major language models in certain tasks, suggesting its potential effectiveness in real-world applications.
