Elon Musk takes another swing at OpenAI, makes xAI's Grok chatbot open-source

Elon Musk announced on Monday that his artificial intelligence startup xAI would be releasing its ChatGPT competitor, "Grok," as open-source software later this week. This decision comes shortly after Musk filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, accusing the organization of straying from its original mission in favor of pursuing profit.

Musk has frequently expressed concerns about the exploitation of technology for financial gain by major tech companies like Google. His lawsuit specifically targeted OpenAI, which he co-founded in 2015 but departed from three years later. OpenAI responded by releasing emails that purportedly showed Musk's support for a for-profit venture and his desire for a merger with Tesla to create a lucrative entity.

In a post on X, the social media platform owned by Musk, he announced, "This week, @xAI will open-source Grok." This move will grant the public access to the underlying code of the technology, aligning xAI with other companies like Meta and Mistral, which have embraced open-source AI models. Google has also contributed to this trend by releasing its AI model Gemma for developers to adapt according to their requirements.

The debate around open-sourcing AI has intensified since Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI, with tech investors like Vinod Khosla and Marc Andreessen weighing in on the matter. While open-sourcing can accelerate innovation, some experts caution about the potential misuse of AI models by malicious actors, including terrorists.

Musk has advocated for greater oversight in AI development, proposing the establishment of a "third-party referee" to monitor firms' activities and raise alarms if necessary. Seeking an alternative to OpenAI and Google, Musk founded xAI last year with the goal of creating an AI focused on truth-seeking. Grok was initially introduced for Premium+ subscribers of X in December.

During a podcast with Lex Fridman, Musk expressed his preference for open-source AI, criticizing OpenAI's shift from its nonprofit, open-source origins to a closed-source, profit-driven model.