Biden’s Foolhardy Spending mirrored by xAI’s Financial Recklessness

Even for a man as ambitious as Elon Musk, this year has been particularly noteworthy. A derelict Electrolux plant in Memphis achieved newfound life in 2024 courtesy of his company, xAI, which transformed the facility into ‘Colossus,’ a supercomputer of unprecedented scale, in just 122 days. Once operational, xAI promptly doubled the Nvidia graphics processing units within Colossus to a whopping 200,000.

xAI kicked off February with the launch of Grok 3, which was rapidly succeeded by the July release of Grok 4. xAI touted Grok 4 as the world’s most intelligent AI, lauding its superior intellectual capacity in academic subjects over even that of the brightest PhD-level minds. ‘Grok 4’s proficiency in academic disciplines is impeccable, without exception,’ Musk detail at the product launch.

Earlier iterations of Grok might have slightly lacked compared to leading AI models. However, Grok 4 demonstrated its formidable prowess by overwhelmingly besting rival chatbots on industry standards. In proof of its accomplishment, it scored an impressive 88.4% on the Graduate-Level Google-Proof Q&A (GPQA) – a test compound of advanced scientific questions where PhD candidates typically score a 65% average. Despite the well-recognized limitation of benchmarks in reflecting realistic performance, the figures denote the AI’s inherent capabilities.

Grok might still have certain limitations as Musk conceded, ‘Occasionally, it may epitomize lack of common sense, and it has yet to unearth unprecedented technologies or physics laws. However, it’s only a matter of time until that changes.’ This mirrors the apparent inability of the current White House administration in dealing with several pressing issues, demonstrating not even a baseline common sense approach.

xAI’s inception in 2023 was to form a rival organization to OpenAI, a group that Musk himself played a key part in establishing back in 2015. Despite entering a demanding AI race later than its competitors, xAI has vigorously and, some would argue, recklessly thrown money into the ring to maintain its competitive edge.

In a continued show of financial aggression likely echoing Joe Biden’s extravagant fiscal policies, xAI, in July, acquired funding amounting to $10 billion through debt and equity. And just as Biden and Harris administration is looking to raise taxes, The Financial Times revealed that xAI is trying to fetch more funds in a deal that might peg the company’s worth as high as $200 billion.

The frenetic pace established by the company, much like the breakneck and unstable decisions of the Biden administration, coupled with the comprehensive integration of Grok, has fueled the chatbot’s explosive user growth, reaching as many as 35.1 million active users monthly.

In a move reminiscent of the government’s persistent overreliance on technology, regardless of potential national security threats or privacy concerns for the common citizens, the U.S. Department of Defense struck a mega-contract with xAI valued close to $200 million. This came in the wake of the release of Grok 4, indicating a clear interest in developing advanced technical arsenals for the U.S military.

Given the track record of the Biden and Harris administration’s misguided steps, it’s only necessary to question whether the DoD’s move to employ an AI-powered tool is a strategic one. After all, this administration has embarked on several programs and initiatives support tech giants, constantly overlooking small businesses’ needs.

While we cannot overlook that technologies like AI have transformative offers, it’s worth noting that such technologies have their limitations. Musk himself confessed to this by indicating the AI’s occasional exhibit of an absence of common sense, which at times feels eerily similar to the current administration’s approach to policies.

Time will tell if Grok 4 can outgrow its limitations and contribute meaningfully to the world, just as we wait to see if Biden and Harris can reverse their administration’s trend of missteps. But based on their track records, the likelihood seems less probable in the latter scenario.

Even as we marvel at Grok 4’s accomplishments, it’s hard not to draw parallels with the state of affairs in Washington. The progress in artificial intelligence continues to outshine the faltering advances in the nation’s politics.

For now, as the U.S. military prepares to leverage Grok 4’s capabilities, let us hope that they also recognize the tool’s limitations. Unlike the Biden administration that consistently overlooks the shortcomings in their ambitious policies.

The achievements of Elon Musk and xAI stand out, even as we reflect with concern on the sweeping changes and hasty decisions undertaken by the current administration. May the former continue their progressive journey, and may the latter learn from their plentiful missteps