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Grok Is Now Exploring
X plans to further incorporate its new “Grok” chatbot service by providing additional Grok-generated summaries of current subjects to the app’s Explore tab.
As shown in this example from X News Daily (originally posted by user @swak_12), the new format for Explore, which is still in testing and may never go live, would feature Grok-generated summaries of all the major issues of the day, ideally providing more insight into why a particular topic is trending.
That could assist to inspire greater interest and interaction, but there is also a risk that it could do the reverse, giving users a recap of the main points of each trend without requiring them to tap through to learn more.
The trade-off would be more focused interaction on each topic, based on a more sophisticated knowledge, as opposed to a clickbait-style approach, in which you entice readers with a single term or name to learn more.
It’s hard to say which is better for app activity counts.
X Premium+ Members Enjoying Right Now!
Grok, which X originally made available to select customers in November, is X’s response to the current generative AI trend, with X owner Elon Musk hoping to enter the race with a dedicated chatbot trained only on X data. The tool is now available to X Premium+ subscribers.
Elon Musk’s Prior Plans
This comes after Musk attempted to restrict access to X’s user data and content for training large language models (LLMs), citing OpenAI’s usage of X data in the development of GPT, the LLM that underpins ChatGPT, Dall-E, and other products.
Musk has personal ties to this case because he was an early investment in OpenAI when the organization was first introduced as a non-profit researching the possibilities of AI for various applications. Musk paid $10 million to the program before attempting to take over as CEO, an offer that OpenAI leadership declined.
Musk responded by withholding future donations and distancing himself from the project. But now, years later, Musk is upset that OpenAI has become a for-profit company, profiting off his hefty original donation.
And the angst makes sense. If I had committed $10 million to a project with no return only to see it make billions later, I would be furious as well, but attempting to take them on by blocking all access to X postings and then establishing your own chatbot is an expensive path to retaliation for a personal gripe.
But that appears to be what Musk is pushing for, as he wants to buy additional AMD CPUs and invest more than $1 billion in AI development by 2024. That will ostensibly include Tesla’s AI work, but a large portion of it will also be dedicated to maximizing Grok and transforming valuable X post findings into a more real-time, engaging chatbot experience.
However, it will be a challenging path. In example, Meta apparently spends roughly $10 billion per year on AI development, while Open AI CEO Sam Altman recently requested “trillions” for his company’s next-level ambitions.
So X’s spending in this area is quite minimal in comparison, which may make it difficult for Grok to become a competitive product. However, Musk is counting on the value of X data, as well as his own technological expertise, to move the project forward, which will most likely lead to him seeking more finance for his xAI projects.
At the same time, you can expect X to try to put Grok to the forefront, as this helps to attract more paying customers while also generating greater interest in the project.
This is what this new display is intended to do, and perhaps displaying more Grok trend summaries will pique people’s curiosity and encourage them to sign up.
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