Elon Musk Unveils Chatbot Code Amid AI Rivalry

Elon Musk launches the code for AI chatbot, Grok

Elon Musk has unveiled the code for his AI chatbot, Grok making it open source amid filing a lawsuit against OpenAI. This strategic decision by Musk's AI company, xAI, is expected to shake up the artificial intelligence landscape and stir debates over AI safety and transparency.

Musk posted on X stating that the xAI's open-source Grok will provide people with free access to the underlying code for experimentation. This move aligns xAI with other companies that have used open-source AI models, such as Meta and France's Mistral. Google has also entered the competition by releasing an AI model called Gemma and allowing external developers to customize it for various applications.

Launched in November 2023, Grok named after a phrase from the science fiction novel "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," is intended to generate snarky and humorous responses. Musk's goal for Grok is to provide a chatbot with a rebellious streak,' distinguishing it from other competitors like ChatGPT.

With open-sourcing the AI chatbot, Grok has caused heated arguments over whether open-sourcing the code will make the technology safer or will open up options for misuse. Some argue that transparency will prevent harmful applications of AI while others argue that may cause unintended consequences.

Musk, believes that critical technologies such as artificial intelligence should not be controlled solely by tech giants and enable tech enthusiasts and AI developers to make use of essential chatbot functions. He believes that making the code open will democratize AI development and ensure that it is utilized ethically.

The release of Grok's code marks the latest development in the intensifying AI war. Musk's company xAI, has positioned itself as a direct competitor of OpenAI's ChatGPT. The rivalry has been exacerbated by Musk's recent lawsuit against OpenAI for failing to open source their technology, as he alleges, they promised and turned away from using AI for the greater good of the people and using AI for profit motive.

Musk, who left OpenAI in 2018, expressed his intent to establish a "third-party referee" to oversee AI development at last year's British AI Safety Summit. He underlined the importance of external oversight to raise concerns if AI development veers into potentially dangerous territory.

Musk, who also owns X and SpaceX and serves as CEO of Tesla, founded xAI last year with the purpose of "understanding reality." In November, he stated that investors in his US$44 billion take-private deal for X would hold 25% of xAI.

Musk posted in X that if AI is programmed to provide diversity at any cost as Google Gemini then it can do anything to lead to a certain outcome, including potentially dangerous tasks.

Subbarao Kambhampati, a computer science professor at Arizona State University, believes that open-sourcing today's AI technologies is the safest way. However, he emphasized that businesses such as xAI and Meta did not always open-source the technology for this reason.