Elon Musk has a controversial ‘AI doctor’ and it is already hiding in 400 million phones.
You might not have even noticed that it’s on your device.
The AI bot was launched by Musk in the hopes that it could completely revolutionize how Americans access their healthcare.
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The tech is already on millions of smartphones around the world but you might not even be aware of it.
The artificial intelligence is named Grok and is based on the large language model (LLM) that shares the same name.
Musk launched the innovation back in 2023 and, similarly to ChatGPT, it has the ability to answer questions.
Recently, the mogul has been encouraging X, formerly Twitter, users to give it a go by testing Grok’s health advice.
Earlier this year, Musk wrote: “Try submitting x-ray, PET, MRI or other medical images to Grok for analysis. This is still early stage, but it is already quite accurate and will become extremely good.”
He went on to say: “Let us know where Grok gets it right or needs work.”
What can Grok do?
The Tesla boss added that the AI would ‘dive deep, offering insights from spotting peculiarities in your blood work to interpreting those shadowy blobs on your X-rays’.
Musk said: “It's pretty adept at providing initial interpretations.
“It could point out if your cholesterol levels are on a joyride or if there's something unusual lurking in your MRI that might warrant a follow-up with an actual medical professional.”
Grok has been integrated into X app, with its services available to the site's Premium and Premium+ subscribers at $16 a month - but its tab may have gone unnoticed by many.
An initial consultation with a primary care consultation in the US costs anywhere between $100 to $200, making Grok a fraction of the price.
Despite some missteps along the way - like a broken clavicle being mistaken for a broken shoulder, as reported by The New York Times - Musk has recently shared some ‘success stories’ from people trialing Grok from themselves.
Posting a screenshot of their interaction with Grok, one X user said: “My best friend has back surgery last week. And I help him with his bandages.
“But I wondered what Grok would say about how well his wound was healing. Sent it a picture...
“Grok knows surgery care. Separately used it earlier with my son who has a hangnail that is getting infected. It told us how to care for it until we can get him to the doctor. Your AI doctor is here.”
Others shared their own positive experiences with Grok.
One user commented: “This could be a game-changer for underserved regions with limited access to specialists.”
Another person agreed, adding: “That is huge. Surely this will change the entire medical industry very quickly?”
However, there are some concerns from experts about sharing personal information with AI, as professor of biomedical informatics at Vanderbilt University, Bradley Malin, told The New York Times: “This is very personal information, and you don’t exactly know what Grok is going to do with it.”
In X's privacy policy, it says it doesn’t ‘sell your personal information’, however, depending on your settings, they may provide information ‘to certain third parties with information to help us offer or operate our products and services’
LADbible Group has contacted X for a comment.