Elon Musk’s latest AI venture, xAI, has unleashed its inaugural creation, Grok, which aims to take on the likes of OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Bard.

Here are five things to know about the Elon Musk AI answer to ChatGPT.

1. Grok, the ‘rebellious’ AI

Grok is the brainchild of Musk’s xAI, and the bot, named Grok is modeled on the humorous futuristic book “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” by Douglas Adams and is characterized by a sense of humor and a rebellious streak, Forbes reported.

It is supposed to have “a bit of wit,” “a rebellious streak,” according to a statement from xAI. The platform will also tackle spicy and controversial questions that other AIs might shy away from.

Before the release, Musk posted on Twitter/X an example of Grok responding to a request for a step-by-step cocaine recipe, CNBC reported.

“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.” 

2. Access to real-time data

Musk’s AI product has a significant advantage—real-time access to data from Twitter/X. This access gives Grok an edge in providing up-to-date information and responses, making it a formidable contender in the AI landscape.

3. Early beta phase

As of now, the product is in its early beta phase, having undergone just two months of training. It’s exclusively available to a select group of users for testing. Users interested in experiencing the platform can join a waitlist for a chance to access this AI technology. Musk has indicated that his AI creation will eventually become a feature of X Premium+, which comes with a $16 per month subscription, CNBC reported.

4. Challenger to established AI models

Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, seems to be positioning xAI as a challenger to established AI players like OpenAI, Inflection, and Anthropic. Initial tests, including middle school math problems and Python coding tasks, suggest that Grok outperforms AI models in its compute class, including ChatGPT-3.5 and Inflection-1, though it is surpassed by bots with larger data sets.

5. What is Grok?

The term “Grok” finds its roots in Robert A. Heinlein’s 1961 science fiction novel, “Stranger in a Strange Land.” In the book, “grok” is a Martian term that signifies deep empathy or profound understanding, Forbes reported.