Tools & Platforms
XAI releases Grok 4 amid furor over antisemitic comments
Generative AI vendors xAI and Perplexity released new models and products to challenge mainstream vendors.
Amid controversy surrounding its Grok AI chatbot making a series of antisemitic comments, xAI released Grok 4 on Wednesday night.
During a live stream on X, xAI’s founder and X owner, Elon Musk, said the model can perform at a postgraduate level in mathematics, chemistry and linguistics based on tests like AI benchmarking platform Humanity’s Last Exam.
“With respect to academic questions, Grok 4 is better than a PhD level in every subject, with no exception,” Musk said during the livestream.
He added that while the multimodal generative AI model has not yet discovered new technologies, it could do so later this year or by 2026.
“AI is advancing faster than any human,” Musk said.
Meanwhile, upstart AI search vendor Perplexity released an AI browser.
Examining Grok 4
The new model has reasoning and problem-solving capability and uses DeepSearch to access factual information from the web, including the X platform. DeepSearch is a tool for web-based analysis and helps with complex queries that require multiple steps.
Grok 4 can process text and image inputs and has a new voice called Eve. The model can also perform multiple tasks simultaneously and is agentic, meaning it can use one or numerous agents for functions. It has a 256k context window and comes in standard and Heavy versions. Standard costs $30 per month, and Heavy costs $300.
The standard version performs single-agentic tasks, while the Heavy version is multi-agentic.
The release of Grok 4 comes only a few months after Grok 3 was released earlier this year, and days after Grok produced a slew of antisemitic responses.
While Grok 4 shows the progress xAI is making in foundation models, the uproar over the model overshadowed the latest version’s technical capabilities, said Arun Chandrasekaran, an analyst with Gartner.
“They have solid research and technical capabilities,” Chandrasekaran said.
Also, the benchmarks that xAI cites seem accurate, but enterprises should not make their decisions about models based on benchmarks, said Bradley Shimmin, an analyst with Futurum Group.
“It is a very much a guidepost, at best,” Shimmin said. “It tells us that Grok 4 aligns with other frontier-scale models.”
He added that the Grok models have been in line with other frontier models for some time, but the update with Grok 4 shows that xAI has been trying to improve the model’s ability to exceed other models on Humanity’s Last Exam.
Safe and responsible AI
Despite the advancement, xAI needs to focus on responsible and safe AI, according to many tech observers
“They need to focus more on guardrails,” Chandrasekaran said. XAI should concentrate more on safety and ensure that the safety mechanisms are layered as part of the entire process of training and releasing a model, including considering prompt inputs.
“Particularly in the case of Grok, it’s more about the recency,” Chandrasekaran said. This is because Grok seems to be taking context from the content coming from the X social media platform, known for its sometimes virulent and uncensored arguments about politics and culture. “They need to have a better filtering way from the context because otherwise the model could be very easily baited and biased from the recency of the inputs that are coming from X.”
In response to the comments the Grok chatbot made about the holocaust and false statements about “white genocide” in South Africa, xAI blamed a programming error.
But for some, model’s offensive hallucinations go beyond an error made by a computer system.
“This is just the latest instance in which [Musk’s] work and reputation are bound up with antisemitism,” said Michael Bennett, associate vice chancellor for data science and artificial intelligence strategy at the University of Illinois Chicago. “For the industry, it’s just a clear indicator that there’s still a lot of work to be done to get these models to produce useful, unbiased and socially acceptable responses. For his enterprises, it’s a further datapoint suggesting that his antisemitism perhaps is not a one-off.”
Permissiveness in the industry
The model’s responses also signal an attitude of laxness in the AI industry that has cropped up over the last year, said Kashyap Kompella, CEO of RPA2AI Research.
“The Grok incident is a sharp reminder that unfettered AI is a bad idea,” Kompella said. “Grok’s shenanigans expose the challenges of letting out AI chatbots unsupervised. We are ignoring and underinvesting in AI governance and guardrails. If there is a silver lining, this incident should wake up the AI industry to take AI governance seriously.”
Taking AI governance is especially important because these tools and technologies have a wider reach beyond the bounds of the U.S. and traditions of free speech, Bennett said.
“For technologies that enable speech that reaches a broader audience … the norms that we ought to be targeting to get the technology to align with, must necessarily be broad as well.”
The lack of governance could also affect xAI’s ability to attract enterprise customers.
“Model safety and responsible AI is a critical evaluation factor for a lot of enterprises; it’s an area where xAI needs to make a lot of progress if they want to be a serious enterprise contender,” Chandrasekaran said.
Perplexity AI
Meanwhile, Perplexity made good on its promise to launch an AI-powered web browser.
On Wednesday, the AI-search vendor launched Comet, a browser that Perplexity said is built for today’s internet.
The new browser is available to Perplexity Max subscribers and other select users by invite-only access.
With Comet, Perplexity appears to be to following a trend that has been developing with major search engines such as Google, Edge, and Safari, in which the value proposition is no longer the link the user has to click on, Shimmin said. Instead, the model is producing an answer, while the link might still be present in terms of a footnote.
“These are all merging into one user experience,” Shimmin said.
He added that it’s not clear whether Perplexity will disrupt existing search engines or user experience, but the vendor differs from traditional search vendors because it does not try to protect the existing search browser model. While other search engines are trying to protect the existing search system because of ad revenue, so Perplexity took a slower approach in embedding AI into search and started embedding AI right away.
Comet can connect with enterprise applications, including Slack, and users can ask questions with voice and text.
Esther Shittu is an Informa TechTarget news writer and podcast host covering artificial intelligence software and systems.
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Noninvasive brain tech is transforming how people interact with robotic devices. Instead of relying on muscle movement, this technology allows a person to control a robotic hand by simply thinking about moving his fingers.
No surgery is required.
Instead, a set of sensors is placed on the scalp to detect brain signals. These signals are then sent to a computer. As a result, this approach is safe and accessible. It opens new possibilities for people with motor impairments or those recovering from injuries.
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PARALYZED MAN SPEAKS AND SINGS WITH AI BRAIN-COMPUTER INTERFACE
A woman wearing non-invasive brain technology (Carnegie Mellon University)
How noninvasive brain tech turns thought into action
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have made significant progress with noninvasive brain technology. They use electroencephalography (EEG) to detect the brain’s electrical activity when someone thinks about moving a finger. Artificial intelligence, specifically deep learning algorithms, then decodes these signals and translates them into commands for a robotic hand. In their study, participants managed to move two or even three robotic fingers at once, just by imagining the motion. The system achieved over 80% accuracy for two-finger tasks. For three-finger tasks, accuracy was over 60%. All of this happened in real time.
WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)?
Meeting the challenge of finger-level control
Achieving separate movement for each robotic finger is a real challenge. The brain areas responsible for finger movement are small. Their signals often overlap, which makes it hard to distinguish between them. However, advances in noninvasive brain technology and deep learning have made it possible to pick up on these subtle differences.
The research team used a neural network called EEGNet. They fine-tuned it for each participant. Because of this, the system allowed for smooth, natural control of the robotic fingers. The movements closely matched how a real hand works.
A robotic finger being controlled by non-invasive brain technology (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
Why noninvasive brain tech matters for everyday life
For people with limited hand function, even small improvements can make a huge difference. Noninvasive brain technology eliminates the need for surgery because the system is external and easy to use. In addition, this technology provides natural and intuitive control. It enables a person to move a robotic hand by simply thinking about the corresponding finger movements.
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The accessibility of noninvasive brain technology means it can be used in clinics and homes and by a wide range of people. For example, it enables participation in everyday tasks, such as typing or picking up small objects that might otherwise be difficult or impossible to perform. This approach can benefit stroke survivors and people with spinal cord injuries. It can also help anyone interested in enhancing their abilities.
What’s next for noninvasive brain tech?
While the progress is exciting, there are still challenges ahead. Noninvasive brain technology needs to improve even further at filtering out noise and adapting to individual differences. However, with ongoing advances in deep learning and sensor technology, these systems are becoming more reliable and easier to use. Researchers are already working to expand the technology for more complex tasks.
As a result, assistive robotics could soon become a part of more homes and workplaces.
Illustration of how the noninvasive brain technology works (Carnegie Mellon University)
Kurt’s key takeaways
Noninvasive brain technology is opening up possibilities that once seemed out of reach. The idea of moving a robotic hand just by thinking about it could make daily life easier and more independent for many people. As researchers continue to improve these systems, it will be interesting to see how this technology shapes the way we interact with the world around us.
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Tools & Platforms
Korea’s game studios rebrand as AI tech firms, with stints at fashion, robotics, media
What was once a world of elves, dragons and power-ups is now giving rise to one of South Korea’s most unexpected tech revolutions, with game studios taking their place alongside Big Tech in the race for AI dominance.
The country’s gaming heavyweights are increasingly shedding their image as pure entertainment companies and positioning themselves as AI-first tech firms, expanding far beyond the virtual battlegrounds into sectors such as fashion, media and even robotics.
Facing a slowing gaming market and rising development costs, game developers and publishers such as NCSOFT Corp., Nexon Co. and Krafton Inc. are leveraging their proprietary AI tools and massive gameplay data troves to build new growth engines, applying gaming-derived machine intelligence to real-world industries.
“We’re no longer just competing for players’ time, but for a stake in the future of applied AI,” said an executive at a domestic game firm.
FROM MMORPGs TO 3D MODELS, FASHION AI
Few illustrate this transition better than NCSOFT, which in February spun off its AI division into a standalone subsidiary, NC AI.
The unit is set to launch Varco 3D at the end of July – a software tool that can generate high-quality 3D characters using nothing more than text or image prompts.
The product will be offered via a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model and targets users far beyond traditional game development, from virtual influencers to digital fashion brands, according to company officials.
The move follows NCSOFT’s development in 2023 of Varco, Korea’s first large language model (LLM) developed by a game company.
The company now provides Varco Art Fashion, an AI-powered tool that generates apparel designs and visual prototypes. The tool has already been adopted by 10 leading fashion firms, halving new product development times, according to NCSOFT.
“We see an opportunity to disrupt the fashion and content production pipelines using tools originally built for game development,” said an NC AI official.
The company also provides generative engines to media firms, allowing for automatic content production and editing.
PREDICTING THE NEXT BIG HIT, OR MISS
Nexon, which owns game-developing studio Nexon Games Co., is taking a different path: using AI to forecast the commercial success of upcoming games.
At the Nexon Developers Conference (NDC25) last month, the firm unveiled its Game Success Prediction AI, designed to sift through early gameplay patterns and metadata to identify breakout potential.
“Sometimes, high-quality games are overlooked,” said Oh Jin-wook, head of Nexon’s Intelligence Labs Group. “AI can help uncover hidden gems, allowing us to take more creative risks.”
His argument is backed by data.
According to global gaming platform Steam, 84% of titles released on its platform last year failed to even register meaningful sales.
Nexon said AI can help de-risk game development by offering early signals from pre-launch user testing.
TAKING AI INTO THE PHYSICAL REALM
Krafton, best known for PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG), is taking AI into the physical realm.
In April, Krafton Chief Executive Kim Changhan met with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang to discuss collaboration on humanoid robotics, building on their previous partnership to co-develop non-player character AI.
Krafton recently launched a Physical AI team, tasked with adapting in-game character AI for robotic applications. The goal: to use virtual intelligence as the foundation for real-world robotic “brains.”
Unlike software AI such as ChatGPT, physical AI focuses on decision-making for physical tasks such as picking up or moving objects.
ESCAPING THE GAMING RUT
Analysts said at the heart of this AI pivot is a strategic response to a cooling domestic gaming market.
Rising development costs and a lack of global blockbusters have dragged down growth.
According to the Korea Creative Content Agency, the nation’s gaming user rate fell to a record low of 59.9% in 2024.
The threat isn’t just rival games – it’s YouTube, TikTok and other attention-gobbling apps.
Nexon Games CEO Park Yong-hyun named non-gaming platforms as the biggest threat to the gaming industry.
According to mobile analytics firm Mobile Index, Koreans spent over 140 minutes a day on YouTube as of March, outpacing daily game playtime by a wide margin.
Experts say Korean game developers are uniquely positioned to scale into the broader AI economy.
The industry has accumulated years of player behavior data and developed highly advanced simulation environments – ideal conditions for training AI.
“Games are structured, interactive ecosystems with clear rules and goals, perfect for developing and testing AI models,” said Wi Jong-hyun, president of the Korea Game Society and a professor at Chung-Ang University. “It’s only natural that these companies are now leading Korea’s AI transition.”
Write to Young-Chong Choi at youngchoi@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.
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