xAI launches Grok 4, right after the AI chatbot spewed hate speech

0
42

xAI launches Grok 4, right after the 'MechaHitler' fiasco

Talk about timing.

 By 

Stan Schroeder

 on 

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Flipboard

Elon Musk

Grok 4 is very smart. But it may lack common sense, sometimes. Credit: xAI / X

Elon Musk's AI company xAI has launched the new version of its AI assistant, Grok.

The problem? The launch comes almost immediately after Grok went on an antisemitic tirade on X, spewing hate speech and praising Hitler.

But forget about all that, despite the fact that it literally happened days ago (that, we presume, is xAI's reasoning). The new Grok, version 4, is "the world's most powerful AI model," according to xAI.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

In a livestream published late on Wednesday, xAI CEO Elon Musk praised Grok 4 for being smarter than "almost all graduate students, in all disciplines, simultaneously," though he did note that sometimes it "may lack common sense."

Need more of that duality? During the livestream, Musk said that Grok is so smart that it could "discover new physics" next year, though he also noted that Grok's improvements are "frankly, in some ways, a little terrifying." Guess you can't have the good without the bad.

Mashable Light Speed

In terms of pricing, Grok 4 costs $30 per month, though an even more powerful version, called Grok 4 Heavy, costs $300 per month.

The latter echoes similar offers by competitors, including OpenAI, which added ChatGPT Pro in December for $200 a month; Google, which launched an AI Ultra subscription plan for $250 a month in May; Anthropic, which launched the new Claude 4 model in June, with the most powerful Max subscription costing $100 monthly; and Perplexity, which added a Max tier for $200 per month in July.

According to xAI's data, Grok 4 and Grok 4 Heavy essentially beat all other models, including OpenAI's o3, Google's Gemini 2.5 Pro, and Claude 4 Opus in various common AI benchmarks, though as one Redditor noticed, the competitors have been chosen selectively, likely to make Grok look better.

While the Grok 4 livestream seemed like business as usual at xAI, the circumstances surrounding the launch were far from ideal. Grok's recent 'MechaHitler' episode on X was followed by a departure of X CEO Linda Yaccarino, while Musk himself has lately been busy arguing with President Donald Trump online and forming a new political party in the U.S.

Disclosure: Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.

Stan Schroeder

Stan is a Senior Editor at Mashable, where he has worked since 2007. He's got more battery-powered gadgets and band t-shirts than you. He writes about the next groundbreaking thing. Typically, this is a phone, a coin, or a car. His ultimate goal is to know something about everything.

These newsletters may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. By clicking Subscribe, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Căutare
Categorii
Citeste mai mult
Technology
Googles Oasis tour Easter egg is madferit
Google's Oasis tour Easter egg is madferit Anybody fancy...
By Test Blogger7 2025-07-03 12:00:18 0 270
Jocuri
You can play Gears of War Reloaded early, and here's how
You can play Gears of War Reloaded early, and here's how As an Amazon Associate, we earn...
By Test Blogger6 2025-06-12 15:00:13 0 762
Jocuri
The best Metroidvanias to play right now
The best Metroidvanias to play right now As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying...
By Test Blogger6 2025-06-12 11:00:10 0 739
Science
"Nobody Expected This": Earth's Rotation Will Speed Up In July And August, Bucking The Downward Trend
"Nobody Expected This": Earth's Rotation Will Speed Up In July And August, Bucking The Downward...
By test Blogger3 2025-06-25 13:00:11 0 550
Technology
Hisense’s 55-inch CanvasTV is $311 off for Prime Day. We love how it blends art and entertainment.
Best Prime Day TV deal: Hisense’s 55-inch QLED CanvasTV is just $688...
By Test Blogger7 2025-07-09 09:00:20 0 78