Elon Musk says xAI used OpenAI models to train Grok

Elon Musk said his artificial intelligence company xAI used OpenAI models in part while training its Grok chatbot, according to… a report by TechCrunch.

The recognition is a rare public acknowledgment by a senior AI developer of a practice that has come under increasing scrutiny. It comes as Musk’s case against OpenAI moves forward in federal court, where the trial began this week and will examine the company’s governance and the broader AI landscape.

Musk made the statement on Thursday while testifying in federal court in California, where he is suing OpenAI, CEO Sam Altman, and co-founder Greg Brockman. The lawsuit centers around Musk’s claim that OpenAI has strayed from its original nonprofit mission.

During questioning, Musk was asked if xAI uses distillation techniques in OpenAI models. He reportedly said the answer was “partly,” and described the approach as a broader industry practice.

Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015 with Sam Altman, Greg Brockman, Ilya Sutskever, John Shulman, and Wojciech Zaremba as a non-profit organization focused on developing artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity. Musk left the company in 2018.

Distillation refers to training a new AI system by querying an existing model through its public interface or application programming interface (API) and using that output as learning signals. In February Anthropy accused Several Chinese AI developers are using fraudulent accounts to extract large amounts of responses from their Claude chatbot to train competing systems. Earlier this month at the White House to caution From “industrial-level” campaigns that use proxy accounts and jailbreaks to replicate US AI capabilities.

Musk’s testimony suggests that this method is used by US-based AI companies, not just foreign competitors.

The legal boundaries remain unclear. Dripping is not explicitly illegal, but it may raise questions about whether it violates the platform’s rules or the terms governing use of the API.

It was launched in July 2023, powered by xAI I entered A market that includes Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI, companies with larger teams and more established infrastructure. Earlier that year, Musk and other tech figures I fell An open letter calls for a six-month moratorium on the development of more advanced artificial intelligence systems, citing potential risks.

Musk’s statements indicate that the company may have used his previous company’s technology to fill the gap.

OpenAI and xAI did not immediately respond DecryptionRequest for comment.