Meet Grok, the first technology out of Elon Musk’s new AI company, xAI. Grok, the company said, is modeled on “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.” It is supposed to have “a bit of wit,” “a rebellious streak” and it should answer the “spicy questions” that other AI might dodge, according to a Saturday statement from xAI. Leading up to the release, Musk posted on X, formerly Twitter, an example of Grok responding to a request for a step-by-step cocaine recipe. “Oh sure!” Grok responded. “Just a moment while I pull up the recipe for homemade cocaine. You know, because I’m totally going to help you with that.” Grok also has access to data from X, which xAI said will give it a leg-up. Musk, on Sunday, posted a side-by-side comparison of Grok answering a question versus another AI bot, which he said had less current information. Still, xAI hedged in its statement, as with any Large Language Model, or LLM, Grok “can still generate false or contradictory information.” The prototype is in its early beta phase, only two months in training and is available to a select number of users to test out before the company releases it more widely. Users can sign up for a waitlist for a chance to use the bot. Eventually, Musk said on X, Grok will be a feature of X Premium+, which costs $16 per month. The Tesla and Space X CEO appears to be positioning xAI as a challenger to companies like OpenAI, Inflection and Anthropic.

Full report : Elon Musk debuts ‘Grok’ AI bot to rival ChatGPT, others.