Grok-2 arrives at X with AI image creation, few limitations and many questions

August 15, 2024

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Grok-2 arrives at X with AI image creation, few limitations and many questions

X users can now play with the new Grok-2 AI model developed by co-Elon Musk owner xAI. The new model is integrated into the Grok AI chatbot on X for Premium or Premium+ subscribers and comes with new features such as an integrated AI image generator powered by the open-source and recently launched FLUX.1 model.

Flux was built by former Stability AI developers who left to form Black Forest Labs. When it launched, Flux was praised for its humanoid figures. Now those capabilities are available on X, and the direct output is hugely varied. X has apparently imposed very few restrictions on Grok-2 or the AI image generator, with reports of the AI producing weapon-making tutorials and lots of fake-but-realistic photos of celebrities and copyrighted fictional characters that look like invitations to massive lawsuits.

Grok apparently isn’t interested in IP pic.twitter.com/GGH1x4xqV2August 15, 2024

When Dua Lipa wins her inevitable Oscar via Grok pic.twitter.com/nlxIeWrUx6August 15, 2024

Grok Pic Puzzles

While Grok-2 is still in beta, the lack of what have become standard restrictions on what the chatbot can say or the images it will generate suggests that not much thought has been given to the complications that could arise from not including limits that OpenAI’s DALL-E, Google’s Gemini, Midjourney, and most other AI image generators come as a matter of course. While it seems impressive to let users generate an image of Iron Man fighting Superman or Dua Lipa winning an Academy Award (with his copyrighted statuette), there are reasons it hasn’t been available on ChatGPT. Between the potential misuse of real people’s likenesses and the apparent infringement of intellectual property rights, it’s hard to say which will be the most contentious debate.

If you’re not an X premium subscriber, you can still try out Flux, though likely not with quite as few restrictions. AI model hubs NightCafe and Poe both offer access to the model, and you can even download it from Hugging Face to run on your computer if you have a powerful enough device.

Elon Musk has repeatedly claimed that Grok is designed to push back against what he describes as over-censorship of digital platforms, including AI assistants like ChatGPT. Whether that would protect him and xAI in court is debatable. Given how Musk founded xAI to counter OpenAI on an almost philosophical level, the contrast likely doesn’t bother him. Then again, X can get away with pointing out that Grok’s images aren’t an entirely perfect imitation of reality.