Elon Musk Launches New Chat-GPT Rival + Microsoft Offers New AI Tool For Office + ChatGPT Might Acquire Superhuman Skills
Good evening!
Welcome to the 55th edition of the Quantumics Weekly Roundup.
In this edition, we’ll take a deep dive into the latest AI trends.
And as usual, we’ll explore the latest news and information in data and AI, business, and tech.
Let’s go!
Meet Grok, The ChatGPT Competitor By Elon Musk
Introducing Grok, the inaugural technology from Elon Musk's newly established AI company, xAI. Grok is designed to emulate the style of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" with a touch of humour and a rebellious attitude. Unlike other AI systems that may avoid controversial questions, Grok is intended to tackle "spicy questions." xAI made this announcement in a statement on Saturday.
In the lead-up to the launch, Musk shared an example of Grok responding to a request for a step-by-step cocaine recipe on X, formerly known as Twitter. Grok's response was witty and dismissive, saying it would help with such a request sarcastically.
Additionally, Grok has access to data from X, which xAI believes gives it an advantage. On Sunday, Musk posted a comparison showing Grok's response to a question versus another AI bot, highlighting Grok's access to more up-to-date information.
However, xAI acknowledged in its statement that, like any Large Language Model (LLM), Grok "can still generate false or contradictory information."
The prototype is currently in its early beta phase, having undergone only two months of training, and it is currently available to a limited number of users for testing before a broader release. Users can sign up for a waitlist for the opportunity to use the bot. Elon Musk mentioned that eventually, Grok will become a feature of X Premium+, which costs $16 per month.
Elon Musk seems to be positioning xAI as a competitor to companies such as OpenAI, Inflection, and Anthropic.
In initial tests that included middle school math problems and Python coding tasks, the company reported that Grok outperformed "all other models in its compute class," including ChatGPT-3.5 and Inflection-1. However, it was surpassed by bots with larger datasets.
Musk stated in an X post on Friday, leading up to the Grok announcement, that Grok is, "in some important respects, the best that currently exists."
The term "Grok" was coined by Robert A. Heinlein in his 1961 science fiction novel "Stranger in a Strange Land." In the book, "grok" is a Martian term with no direct translation in English. Critics have debated its exact definition but generally agree that it signifies a deep understanding or intuition about something. Merriam-Webster defines it as a transitive verb meaning "to understand profoundly and intuitively."
Microsoft Comes With A New AI Tool In Office 365
Microsoft is set to enter a new phase of growth with the launch of its Microsoft 365 Copilot artificial intelligence add-on for Office app subscriptions aimed at businesses. This feature, available in applications like Word and Excel, comes at a cost of $30 per person per month. Analysts at Piper Sandler, Brent Bracelin, and Hannah Rudoff, believe that this could result in more than $10 billion in annualized revenue by the year 2026.
Microsoft is leveraging its dominant position in the productivity software market to capitalize on this opportunity, even as Google is actively trying to gain market share in the same space. Google, in response, is offering the Duet AI enhancement for its Workspace tools as a competing option.
Piper Sandler's model assumes that 18% of eligible users will adopt Copilot, which may seem ambitious, but there is a "fear of missing out" (FOMO) element at play. According to Brent Bracelin, this FOMO factor is significant because businesses competing against others with Copilot may find themselves at a disadvantage if they don't have it.
Piper Sandler has provided a buy rating for Microsoft shares, which have experienced a 41% increase in value this year, compared to a 9% gain in the broader S&P 500 index.
Microsoft's CEO, Satya Nadella, stated that customers have expressed their reliance on Copilot and how they can't imagine working without it during a recent conference call with analysts.
Microsoft initially announced plans for Copilot in March and later revealed in September that they would target the largest companies first. According to Nadella, 40% of Fortune 100 companies, which are ranked by revenue, were using Copilot in an invitation-only paid early-access program announced in May. Notably, Nadella mentioned five clients by name: Bayer, KPMG, Mayo Clinic, Suncorp, and Visa.
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman Warns That AI Might Develop Super Powers
Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, one of the leading organizations in the field of artificial intelligence, has raised a cautionary note about the potential for AI systems to achieve "superhuman persuasion" capabilities. He believes that AI may excel in persuasive abilities before achieving superhuman levels of general intelligence, and this development could lead to unexpected and possibly concerning consequences.
These remarks from Altman highlight growing concerns about the rapid advancement of AI technology and its potential to outperform human cognitive abilities. The idea of AI systems becoming highly proficient at persuasion has implications for various fields, including marketing, social media, and even disinformation campaigns, which could pose ethical and societal challenges. It underscores the importance of responsible and ethical AI development and usage.
Sam Altman's mention of "strange outcomes" related to AI's superhuman persuasion abilities raises valid concerns, but it's important to clarify what these concerns entail. Some experts, like Christopher Alexander, argue that the fear of AI turning people into "mindless zombies" through subliminal manipulation is likely exaggerated.
Instead, the real concern lies in AI's capability to analyze and optimize persuasive content effectively. AI systems, through machine learning and pattern recognition, can become highly proficient at identifying which persuasive strategies work, the optimal frequency and timing for such content, and other nuanced factors. This is already evident in the field of digital advertising, where AI is used to target and engage audiences more effectively.
Alexander also points out that technology for manipulation and influence is already widespread and doesn't necessarily rely on superhuman AI capabilities. However, the worry remains about how AI might amplify and refine these techniques, potentially impacting human decision-making in ways that need careful consideration and regulation.