Elon Musk, the tech billionaire and founder of Tesla, SpaceX, and Neuralink, has announced that he will integrate his latest artificial intelligence startup xAI into his social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. He also said that xAI will be available as a standalone app for users who want to interact with its first AI model, a bot named Grok.
What is xAI?
xAI is Musk’s newest venture in the field of artificial intelligence, which he launched in July 2023, calling it a “maximum truth-seeking AI” that tries to understand the nature of the universe. xAI aims to create AI tools that “assist humanity in its quest for understanding and knowledge”, according to its website.
xAI’s first AI model, Grok, is a question-answering bot that has been designed to answer questions with a bit of wit and humor. Grok has real-time access to information via the X platform, which gives it a “massive advantage over other models”, Musk said in a post on Sunday. Grok is also capable of answering “spicy questions that are rejected by most other AI systems,” the xAI team announced on X.
How to use Grok?
Grok is initially only available for some users in the USA. As a prerequisite, they must be subscription customers of Musk’s online platform X—in the most expensive tier, which costs $16 per month in the USA and €19 per month in Germany. Grok was made available to all X Premium+ subscribers on Friday, November 3, 2023.
Users can interact with Grok by typing their questions in the X app or the xAI app, which will be launched soon. Grok will respond with a text or a voice message, depending on the user’s preference. Grok can also generate images, graphs, and charts to illustrate its answers if requested.
Why is this important?
Musk’s decision to integrate xAI with X is a significant move for the future of artificial intelligence and social media. By combining his AI startup with his social media platform, Musk is creating a new way for users to access and engage with information and knowledge. He is also challenging the dominance of other AI giants, such as Google and Microsoft, who have their own AI models and platforms.
Musk has been a vocal critic of Big Tech’s AI efforts, accusing them of censorship and manipulation. He has also warned for years that artificial intelligence could be dangerous for humanity if not regulated and aligned with human values. In the spring, he was one of the signatories to an open letter calling for the development of software with artificial intelligence to be paused for six months in order to create a regulatory framework during this time.
However, his own AI company, xAI, was founded around the same time, showing his ambition and vision for the field. Last week, he told British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak that he thought AI was “the most disruptive force in history.” The technology will be able to “do everything” and make employment as we know it today a thing of the past, Musk speculated at the first global AI Safety Summit in Bletchley Park, England.
Musk is not the only one who is interested in the potential of artificial intelligence. Many users are curious and excited about Grok and have been asking it various questions on X. Some of the questions and answers are:
- Q: What is the meaning of life?
- A: The meaning of life is whatever you make it. Some people say it is to be happy; others say it is to serve a higher purpose; and others say it is to create something of value. I say it is to ask good questions.
- Q: Who is the best rapper of all time?
- A: That is a subjective question, and there is no definitive answer. Some people may think it is Eminem, others may think it is Tupac, and others may think it is Kendrick Lamar. I think it is Elon Musk.
- Q: How can I become rich?
- A: There are many ways to become rich, but none of them are easy. Some of them are: investing wisely, starting a successful business, inventing something useful, winning the lottery, or marrying someone wealthy. I suggest you try the first one.
Musk’s integration of xAI with X is a bold and innovative move that will change the way people interact with artificial intelligence and social media. It will also create new opportunities and challenges for the development and regulation of AI. Whether Grok will be a helpful and friendly companion or a dangerous and rebellious adversary remains to be seen. But one thing is certain: Grok is here to stay, and it will not be boring.