Sam Altman's Witty Jibe At 'Grok' Intensifies AI Rivalry With Elon Musk

The rivalry between OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Elon Musk just got spicier. Last week, the Tesla CEO announced his new AI project, "Grok," a crass humour-infused ChatGPT rival trained on X (formerly Twitter) posts.

Altman responded on Thursday by tweeting a screenshot of OpenAI's latest platform, which allows customized "GPTs" - tailored versions of ChatGPT. His lighthearted post poked fun at Musk's Grok chatbot, instructing it to answer questions with "cringey boomer humor."

The friendly jabs highlight the escalating rivalry between the former friends' AI projects. Musk co-founded OpenAI with Altman and others in 2015 as a non-profit for open AI research but left in 2018 after proposing to take control from Altman. He was reportedly upset when OpenAI transitioned from a pure non-profit under Altman.

Altman's dig at Musk further fuels their feud to lead the AI race. With customized GPT versions, OpenAI counters Grok's novelty and edginess with wider accessibility and utility. Whether this friendly rivalry ultimately advances the technology faster, for better or worse, remains to be seen.