X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, has added a new AI image generator called Aurora to its Grok assistant. Accessible through the Grok tab on X’s mobile apps and the web, Aurora can generate images from text prompts with minimal restrictions.
Unlike some other AI image generators, Aurora can create images of public and copyrighted figures, including characters like Mickey Mouse. While it appears to avoid generating explicit content like nudity, it can produce graphic images based on user prompts.
The origins of Aurora remain unclear. While xAI, Elon Musk’s AI startup responsible for developing Grok and other AI features on X, announced Aurora, it has not disclosed whether the model was trained in-house, built upon an existing image generator, or developed in collaboration with a third party.
However, some xAI employees have indicated their involvement in fine-tuning Aurora, and Musk previously hinted at xAI developing its own image generation system.
Aurora seems to excel at creating photorealistic images, including landscapes and still lifes. However, like other AI image generators, it is not without flaws. Some users have reported issues with objects blending unnaturally and difficulties in generating realistic human hands.
The release of Aurora follows X’s decision to make Grok accessible to all users, removing the previous requirement of an X Premium subscription. Free users can now send up to 10 messages to Grok every two hours and generate up to 3 images per day.
This expansion of AI capabilities on X comes amidst other developments at the company, including a recent funding round for xAI and rumors of a standalone Grok app and a next-generation Grok model in development.
