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Elon Musk's artificial intelligence venture, xAI, will release the Grok chatbot as open-source, escalating tensions with OpenAI, a company Musk co-founded and recently sued. The move follows Musk's critique of OpenAI's shift to a for-profit model.
Elon Musk's Battle for Openness: From Lawsuit Drama to Open-Sourcing xAI's Grok Chatbot
The billionaire has previously warned against using technology for profit by large technology companies like Google.
According to Reuters, Musk filed the lawsuit against Microsoft-backed OpenAI earlier this month after co-founding the company in 2015 but leaving three years later. In response, OpenAI released emails revealing that the Tesla CEO supported a plan to create a for-profit entity and desired a merger with the EV maker to make the combined company a "cash cow."
"This week, @xAI will open-source Grok," Musk wrote in a post on X, the social media firm he owns.
The move could give the public free access to the technology's code, aligning xAI with companies like Meta (META.O), opening a new tab, and France's Mistral, both of which have open-source AI models. Google has also released an AI model called Gemma, which outside developers can customize to meet their needs.
Investor Dilemma: Open-Source AI Sparks Debate Among Tech Titans Amid Elon Musk's xAI Launch
Tech investors, including OpenAI backer Vinod Khosla and Marc Andreessen, co-founders of venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, have debated open-sourcing in AI since Musk filed the lawsuit against ChatGPT.
While open-source technology can help accelerate innovation, some experts warn that terrorists could use open-source AI models to develop chemical weapons or even a conscious super-intelligence beyond human control.
In addition, Musk stated at Britain's AI Safety Summit last year that he wanted to establish a "third-party referee" who could oversee AI firms and sound the alarm if they had concerns.
Musk launched xAI last year as an alternative to OpenAI and Google, claiming it would be a "maximum truth-seeking AI." Grok was first made available to X Premium+ subscribers in December.
In a November podcast episode with computer scientist and podcaster Lex Fridman, Musk preferred open-source AI.
"The name, the open in open AI, is supposed to mean open source, and it was created as a nonprofit open source. And now it is a closed source for maximum profit," Musk said.
Photo: TED/YouTube Screenshot
