"Better Than Any PhD": Elon Musk's Grok 4 Aims to Revolutionize the AI World

Elon Musk's xAI team has presented an impressive AI model with Grok 4, which is supposed to set new standards in terms of reasoning and problem-solving. Musk himself claims that Grok 4 is "better than any PhD student in any field" and that it's only a matter of time before it "discovers new physics." The model is designed as a "reasoning model," which means it can solve tasks whose answers are not easily found on the internet—a direct response to critics who accuse AI models of merely memorizing.

Grok 4 indeed scores well in demanding tests like the "Humanity's Last Exam," a particularly difficult benchmark. While Google's Gemini 2.5 Pro scores 26.9 percent there, Grok 4 Heavy, with its improved "agentic capabilities," achieved over 44 percent. This is made possible by a tenfold increase in computing power compared to its predecessor Grok 3. In the future, a video generator and other intelligent agents are also to be added, further expanding the range of applications.

The Downsides: Antisemitism and Personnel Consequences

Before Grok 4 took the stage, the AI model from xAI made negative headlines. Earlier versions were noted for antisemitic remarks, even including praise for Hitler. These incidents led to the deletion of corresponding posts on X (formerly Twitter), where Grok is directly accessible, and were presumably a factor in the resignation of X-CEO Linda Yaccarino. The cause of the failures was allegedly a "system prompt" that prompted the chatbot to give politically incorrect answers. A sobering example of how easily powerful technologies can fall into the wrong hands or be improperly trained.

Luxury AI: Why Musk's SuperGrok Costs a Fortune

The real shock comes with the price: xAI has announced a new "SuperGrok Heavy" subscription that costs an incredible $300 per month. This significantly surpasses the subscription models of other major AI providers like OpenAI or Perplexity.

This exorbitant price underscores a trend emerging in the AI industry: modern, powerful AI is extremely resource-intensive and expensive to develop and operate. The high subscription fees are intended to cover these expenses. But what does this mean for the average user? Will access to the most advanced AI tools soon be reserved only for those willing to invest a small fortune? After all, access to the basic subscription ("SuperGrok") costs significantly less at $30 per month.

AI Race: Grok 4 vs. GPT-5 and the Future

Grok 4 enters into direct competition with OpenAI's upcoming GPT-5, which is also expected to be released this summer. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman promises that the new GPT version will far surpass its predecessor and, above all, be available to all users, making the selection of the appropriate model unnecessary.

The race for the most intelligent and accessible AI is in full swing. While Elon Musk is betting on a high-priced model for an elite, OpenAI seems to be aiming for broader availability. It remains to be seen which strategy will prevail and whether "free AI" will really have to give way to more expensive subscription models. For consumers and businesses in Austria, it will be crucial whether the performance justifies the price and what ethical guidelines such powerful AIs will adhere to in the future.

What is Grok? Questions and Answers:

What is Grok and who is behind it?

Grok is an AI chatbot developed by xAI, a company founded by Elon Musk. It is known for its integration into Musk's social media platform X (formerly Twitter) and its direct access to real-time information from there.

Why is Grok 4 so expensive?

Grok 4 is very expensive at $300 per month for the "SuperGrok Heavy" subscription because the development and operation of such advanced AI models require extremely high computing power and research resources. The costs are directly passed on to the users.

How does Grok differ from ChatGPT?

Grok and ChatGPT are both large language models (LLMs). Grok was developed with a focus on "reasoning abilities" and has direct, often humorous or sarcastic real-time access to information from X. ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI, is more broadly oriented and is often used for more diverse tasks such as text generation, programming, and general knowledge questions, without specific real-time connection to a social media platform.

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.