Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup company, xAI, is set to unveil its highly anticipated AI model on Saturday, November 4. The billionaire entrepreneur made the announcement on X (formerly known as Twitter), revealing that the technology will be made available to a “select group” of individuals. Musk even confidently claims that, “in some important respects, it is the best that currently exists.”
While xAI has been relatively quiet since its introduction in July, the startup garnered attention by being led by a team of former engineers from tech giants like Microsoft, Google, and OpenAI. During a 90-minute-long Twitter Spaces conversation shortly after the debut, Musk outlined his vision for the company. He emphasized xAI’s mission to create “a good AGI” (artificial general intelligence) with the overarching goal of comprehending the universe, setting it apart from what he sees as problematic technology from other industry players.
AGI, or artificial general intelligence, represents the concept of AI possessing intelligence on par with or surpassing that of a typical human. However, AGI remains more of a conceptual idea than a concrete technological achievement, with no universally accepted definition.
So, does this mean xAI will reveal an exceptionally intelligent model capable of contributing to humanity and engaging in conversations like a character from a science fiction film? The answer is uncertain, but the expectation for November 5 is that xAI may introduce a chatbot akin to ChatGPT, playfully dubbed “ChatX” in alignment with Musk’s fascination with the letter “X.”
Does “ChatX” stand a chance against competitors such as Google Bard or ChatGPT, which have been refined through multiple updates over nearly a year? Perhaps xAI has successfully addressed the “hallucination problem,” a challenge faced by AI models like ChatGPT. It’s possible that ChatX could also serve as a platform for Musk to disseminate his ideas and beliefs.
Musk has expressed a desire for an alternative to ChatGPT, one that prioritizes delivering “truth,” although the interpretation of this concept remains open to debate. He has been an outspoken critic of the rapid development of generative AI models by tech companies, even calling for a six-month pause on AI training in March, a proposal that did not come to fruition as AI technology continued to advance.
It’s noteworthy that Twitter, under Musk’s leadership, has shown a willingness to comply with censorship requests from various governments, raising questions about Musk’s definition of “truth.” In any case, the xAI team’s intentions will become clear in due time, though expectations should be tempered.
