X’s Grok did surprisingly well in my AI coding tests [Video]

When X first came out with its chatbot, it was behind a paywall. But TANSTAAFL notwithstanding, X recently opened up Grok to the world. So I decided to throw my programming tests at it.

Also: How I test an AI chatbot’s coding ability – and you can, too

I’ve always been a bit intrigued by Grok because of the name. Grok was coined by Robert Heinlein, one of my very favorite science fiction writers. I fully credit Heinlein with twisting my young brain.

My parents tightly controlled the media I had access to based on what they considered wholesome and healthy. But they gave me free rein to read whatever limited science fiction I could find in the local library — because the word science meant it had to be educational.

Without geeking out on Heinlein too much, let’s just say that he had a very open mind when it came to societal …