Meet Grok by xAI: Elon Musk's New AI Innovation

In the ever-evolving landscape of artificial intelligence, Elon Musk's latest endeavor, xAI, has unveiled its first creation: Grok.

This AI innovation, inspired by "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," promises to bring a dash of wit and a rebellious streak to the realm of AI.

According to a statement released by xAI on a Saturday, Grok aims to answer the "spicy questions" that other AI systems might shy away from.

Leading up to the launch, Musk made quite the buzz by sharing an example of Grok's capabilities on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

In response to a request for a step-by-step cocaine recipe, Grok retorted, "Oh sure! Just a moment while I pull up the recipe for homemade cocaine. You know, because I'm totally going to help you with that."

One of Grok's unique features is its access to data from X, which xAI believes will provide it with a competitive edge.

Musk shared a side-by-side comparison on a Sunday, demonstrating how Grok outperformed another AI bot in answering a question, thanks to its access to more current information.

However, xAI emphasized in its statement that, like any Large Language Model (LLM), Grok "can still generate false or contradictory information."

Meet Grok by xAI

The prototype of Grok is currently in its early beta phase, having undergone only two months of training.

It is being made available to a limited number of users for testing before a wider release. Users interested in trying out the bot can join a waitlist for a chance to access it. Eventually, Musk stated on X that Grok will become a feature of X Premium+, which will cost $16 per month.

Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, seems to be positioning xAI as a formidable challenger to companies like OpenAI, Inflection, and Anthropic.

In initial testing, focusing on middle school math problems and Python coding tasks, xAI reported that Grok surpassed "all other models in its compute class, including ChatGPT-3.5 and Inflection-1," although it was outperformed by bots with access to larger data sets.

Musk expressed his enthusiasm for Grok, stating in an X post on a Friday leading up to the Grok announcement, "In some important respects, it is the best that currently exists."

The name "Grōk" finds its origins in Robert A. Heinlein's 1961 science fiction novel, "Stranger in a Strange Land."

In the book, 'grok' is a Martian term with no direct Earthling translation, often described as a deep sense of empathy or profound intuitive understanding.

xAI was launched in July, boasting a team comprised of former employees from renowned AI companies such as OpenAI and DeepMind, and it is actively seeking to fill various job positions.

The company's self-stated mission is to develop artificial intelligence "to advance our collective understanding of the universe." Elon Musk has previously expressed concerns that contemporary AI systems are overly inclined toward being "politically correct."

As a response to this, xAI aims to create AI accessible to individuals from diverse backgrounds and political perspectives.

Grok, in particular, is seen as a means of publicly testing this approach to AI.

Rebecca Picciotto / CNBC