Is Grok 4 the Best LLM Yet?

Summary

Elon Musk's company, XAI, has unveiled Gro 4, an advanced AI model that outperforms its predecessors, including Gro 3, on multiple benchmarks. Despite skepticism around the release, independent tests confirm Gro 4’s superior performance, particularly in the ARC AGI test. While Gro 4 shows significant improvements, its speed and cost remain concerns. The new Gro 4 Heavy version further pushes the boundaries by using parallel agents to enhance output, though it comes at a higher price. The AI community is divided, but Gro 4’s potential sets the stage for future breakthroughs in AI technology.

Takeaways

• 😀 Elon Musk and XAI have unveiled Gro 4, a new AI model designed to outperform current state-of-the-art models in key benchmarks.
• 😀 Gro 4 has been heavily trained, with Elon claiming it received 100 times more training than Grok 2 and 10x more compute on reinforcement learning than any other model.
• 😀 Gro 4's performance on benchmarks like the ARC AGI test has been impressive, surpassing previous leaders and showing significant progress in AI fluid intelligence.
• 😀 Despite its strong benchmark performance, Gro 4 has slower output tokens per second compared to other models like Gemini 2.5 Pro and a higher cost per million tokens.
• 😀 Independent testing by Artificial Analysis confirms Gro 4's top-tier performance, with a score of 73 on its AI index, surpassing other leading models.
• 😀 The introduction of Gro 4 heavy, a premium version of the model, offers significantly better performance by using multiple parallel agents, although it comes at a high cost ($300/month).
• 😀 While some AI experts have praised Gro 4's outperformance, others remain cautious, raising concerns over its slower response times and higher computational costs.
• 😀 Early feedback from users and AI enthusiasts shows that Gro 4 is very capable in various tests, though some have noted its tendency to mirror inputs rather than provide original insights until prompted further.
• 😀 Some skeptics question the methodology behind certain benchmarks, like Artificial Analysis' scores, and have pointed out discrepancies in its scoring of models like Claude 4 Opus.
• 😀 The launch of Gro 4 and its performance in benchmarks have led market analysts to reconsider their stance on Elon Musk's AI projects, with some now impressed by XAI's strategic direction and technical ambition.

Q & A

What is the general perception of Elon Musk in Silicon Valley regarding his ventures?

Many people in Silicon Valley believe that, regardless of his eccentric statements or actions, betting against Elon Musk in the long run is unwise.

What is the significance of the Gro 4 announcement?

The release of Gro 4 is seen as a major move by XAI, with some analysts considering it to solidify XAI's position at the forefront of AI development.

How did XAI demonstrate the capabilities of Gro 4 in their live stream?

The live stream featured Elon Musk and XAI engineers discussing the progress of Gro 4 while showcasing performance benchmarks. They introduced Gro 4 with dramatic language and revealed its superior performance in comparison to other models.

What improvements does Gro 4 have over its predecessor, Grock 3?

Gro 4 has significantly more training and compute resources, with Elon claiming it had 100 times more training data than Grock 2 and 10 times more compute on reinforcement learning. It also performed better on various benchmark tests compared to other models.

How did Gro 4 perform in benchmark tests compared to other models?

Gro 4 outperformed many other models in several benchmarks, including tests like MMLU and Humanity's Last Exam. Despite this, the benchmark results should be viewed cautiously, as they often compare hand-picked models and may not be fully representative.

What is the ARC AGI test, and how did Gro 4 perform on it?

The ARC AGI test is a measure of artificial general intelligence, and Gro 4 became the top-performing publicly available model on this test, surpassing other models like Opus 4. It achieved a score of 15.9%, which was a significant improvement over the previous high score of 8%.

What are some limitations of Gro 4 based on early feedback?

Some users noted that Gro 4's output was slower compared to other reasoning models like GPT-3. It was also less aggressive about using tools and performing certain tasks, such as coding or solving non-coding problems.

What were some of the specific tests conducted by users to evaluate Gro 4?

Users ran a variety of tests, including coding tasks, physics simulations, and legal reasoning. Gro 4 performed well in most tests, such as creating an HTML, CSS, and JavaScript ball inside a rotating hexagon and solving multihop reasoning questions about business and legal scenarios.

What is Gro 4 Heavy, and how does it differ from the standard Gro 4 model?

Gro 4 Heavy is a more powerful version of Gro 4, available for $300 per month. It uses parallel processing with multiple agents working on the same task to produce better results, though it comes with higher token usage and costs.

How does the use of multiple agents in Gro 4 Heavy enhance its performance?

In Gro 4 Heavy, multiple agents work on the same task in parallel, compare their outputs, and select the best one. This approach leads to better accuracy and performance, though it comes at the cost of higher computational demands and token usage.