The artificial intelligence company xAI, owned by Elon Musk, has reportedly introduced a new AI image generator named Aurora within its Grok platform. Unlike the previously developed Flux, which was created by Black Forest Labs, Aurora has been confirmed by Musk to be an internally developed model. Shortly after its discovery by users, many began sharing purportedly Aurora-generated images; however, the tool was reportedly removed from access just hours later. Speculation suggests that the AI model was retracted due to insufficient guardrails concerning the generation of images featuring public figures.
xAI Reportedly Added a New Image Generator to Grok
A report from TechCrunch highlighted the appearance of the Aurora model in the interface of the Grok platform on X, previously known as Twitter. Users found the option to select “Grok 2 + Aurora” within the model selector at the top of the page, suggesting they could utilize the new image generation features. Notably, xAI did not issue an official announcement regarding the tool’s launch.
Musk provided indirect confirmation of Aurora during a reply to a post on X, where various images produced by the model were shared. He commented, “This is our internal image generation system. Still in beta, but it will improve fast.”
So this new @grok image generation called Aurora just shipped on a Saturday, what do we think folks?
Looks like trained by them, no evals or details, just, here you go, use the thing.
Seems focused on photo realism
— Alex Volkov (Thursd/AI) (@altryne) December 7, 2024
In a separate post, Chris Park, Director and Co-Head of the X Developer Platform at X, congratulated xAI on the introduction of the Aurora model. Users have also shared images generated through this AI tool, including representations of public figures such as OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman, as well as copyrighted characters like Mickey Mouse and Luigi. In a noteworthy example, TechCrunch reported successfully generating an image of former US President Donald Trump with a bleeding face.
With no official announcement, information regarding Aurora’s model architecture, training framework, or the data sources used for its training remains unavailable. It is unclear whether the model was developed entirely in-house or if it involved collaboration with an external AI firm.
The plot thickened when multiple users reported the abrupt disappearance of the Aurora model within hours of its release. There are various theories regarding this, with some suggesting it was a result of a testing error, while others claim the removal occurred due to the model’s inadequate guardrails. At the time of writing, staff members from Gadgets 360 attempted to access Aurora but found the option was no longer available.
