Elon Musk’s social media platform, X (formerly Twitter) has always been a go-to source for breaking news, latest headlines, and real-time updates. Now, X has just rolled out a new AI-powered news feature to summarize news events and compile social media reactions directly on X.
Alongside, X is introducing “Stories,” a feature powered by Grok, offering users real-time, accurate summaries of trending topics. Currently, “Stories” is exclusively accessible to premium subscribers. The move is a major shift in the intersection of AI with media consumption, as highlighted by X’s engineering team and various tech journalists.
Musk has hinted at an even more ambitious vision, aspiring to develop a system that surpasses mere summaries. This system would integrate breaking news with social media commentary, presenting users with dynamic digests of major events, enriched by Grok’s chat functionalities for deeper exploration.
This development reflects a broader trend of leveraging AI to navigate the overwhelming influx of information. While X acknowledges the limitations of AI by including disclaimers with Grok summaries, the full extent of its impact on news consumption and the traditional media landscape remains to be seen.
Unlike conventional news summaries, which often rely on human input or basic algorithms, X adopts a distinctive approach to news coverage. Grok directly taps into discussions happening on X, capturing the essence of people’s reactions and commentary, rather than merely summarizing news articles.
“As more information becomes available, the news summary will update to include that information,” Musk told Alex Kantrowitz. “The goal is simple: to provide maximally accurate and timely information, citing the most significant sources.”
New: @elonmusk emailed me about his plan for AI news on X.
The idea is to use AI to blend breaking news and commentary, building real-time summaries of events. Then you can go deeper via chat on Grok.
Here's the full story! I'll be talking more about this on Big Technology…
— Alex Kantrowitz (@Kantrowitz) May 3, 2024
Dubbed “Stories,” Grok’s news summaries are currently accessible only to X’s premium subscribers, with broader availability anticipated in the future. While Grok’s citation of sources is still evolving, Musk assures that improvements are underway, enabling users to delve deeper into published stories.
In essence, the convergence of Grok’s AI-curated news and OpenAI’s media partnerships heralds a transformative shift in news consumption and gathering. As X/Twitter emerges as a primary news source globally, addressing challenges such as misinformation, bias, and content credibility will be pivotal during the initial phases of these features’ implementation.
Dubbed “Stories,” Grok’s news summaries are currently accessible only to X’s premium subscribers, with broader availability anticipated in the future.
Although Grok’s sourcing capabilities are still developing, Musk assures improvements are underway, promising users enhanced access to published stories.
The significance of these developments is underscored by the convergence of Grok’s AI-driven news and OpenAI’s media collaborations, heralding a transformative shift in news consumption and gathering. As X/Twitter emerges as a primary news conduit globally, addressing challenges like bias, misinformation, and perception management will be pivotal in the nascent stages of this feature.
