Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI has introduced two new chatbots called Grok-2 and Grok-2 Mini. These new models come with significant improvements over the company’s previous version, Grok-1.5, and offer remarkable innovations, especially in terms of chat, coding and reasoning capabilities. However, it is argued that these models, along with the advantages they offer for users, also bring some potential risks.
Grok-2 is defined as a more advanced artificial intelligence model compared to previous versions. It is stated that this new model has a more suitable and manageable structure for the needs of users. The developers state that Grok-2 offers a more intuitive user experience, while emphasizing that this model also has an increased ability to perform more complex tasks. On the other hand, Grok-2 Mini, as its name suggests, is designed as a smaller version of Grok-2. It is stated that this model offers a balanced performance between speed and response quality.
One of the most striking features of the new models is the ability to create images. xAI announced that Grok-2’s image creation ability is supported by an artificial intelligence model called Flux 1 developed by Black Forest Lab. This feature allows users to produce images by giving certain commands. However, some concerns have been raised about this image creation feature. Especially on the social media platform X, the fact that these images can be shared in an uncontrolled manner and that there are no sufficient control mechanisms increases the potential for abuse.
Following the introduction of these new models, some user-created images were shared on social media. These images include fake images of well-known political figures using weapons or consuming illegal substances. This raises concerns that Grok-2 has the potential to spread misinformation, especially during election periods. It is argued that the spread of such fake images carries the risk of misleading the public.
It is also noteworthy that such images produced by Grok-2 do not carry any signs indicating that they were created by artificial intelligence. This could lead to misunderstandings among users who do not know the source of the images and could cause misleading information to spread rapidly. There has been no official statement from the X platform on this issue yet. However, it is known that the platform has been distant towards media questions since it was purchased by Elon Musk.
xAI’s new Grok-2 and Grok-2 Mini models once again demonstrate how quickly AI technologies are evolving. However, the risks and societal impacts that come with such innovations should not be ignored. How AI-based tools will be used, especially on social media platforms, and what regulations will govern these uses seem likely to continue to be important topics of discussion in the future.