Former Uber CEO claims Grok helps him approach physics breakthroughs

Former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick claimed on a recent All-In podcast that he’s approaching physics breakthroughs by using AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Grok to explore quantum physics concepts. His comments reflect a growing trend of tech executives making grandiose claims about AI’s potential to revolutionize scientific discovery, despite current limitations in large language models.

What he’s saying: Kalanick described his unconventional approach to scientific exploration through AI interactions.

• “I’ll go down this thread with GPT or Grok and I’ll start to get to the edge of what’s known in quantum physics and then I’m doing the equivalent of vibe coding, except it’s vibe physics,” he explained.
• “And we’re approaching what’s known. And I’m trying to poke and see if there’s breakthroughs to be had. And I’ve gotten pretty damn close to some interesting breakthroughs just doing that.”

The Grok connection: Kalanick expressed particular enthusiasm for Elon Musk’s Grok AI, despite recent controversies surrounding the platform.

• He contacted Musk directly, saying: “I pinged Elon on at some point. I’m just like, dude, if I’m doing this and I’m super amateur hour physics enthusiast, what about all those PhD students and postdocs that are super legit using this tool?”
• “Grok 4 could be this place where breakthroughs are actually happening! New breakthroughs!” he proclaimed.

Reality check: Current AI capabilities fall far short of the scientific discovery promises being made by tech leaders.

• Large language models frequently suffer from “hallucinations” — inventing facts out of thin air — making them unreliable for scientific research.
• Grok specifically has been “remarkably prone to declaring itself an incarnation of Adolf Hitler, being racist, or seemingly believing it’s Elon Musk himself.”
• No large language model has yet proved capable of discovering genuine scientific breakthroughs or “unearthing the secrets of spacetime.”

The bigger picture: Kalanick’s comments mirror broader industry hype about AI’s transformative potential in scientific research.

• Musk has promised that Grok will discover “new technologies” and “new physics” within the next few years.
• The Tesla CEO originally positioned Grok as a “maximum truth-seeking” AI that would unlock the “true nature of the universe.”

His solution: Kalanick proposed a simple fix for accelerating scientific discovery through AI.

• “If you have an LLM or foundational model of some kind that is the best in the world at the scientific method? Game the eff over,” he said.
• “You just light up more GPUs and you just got like a thousand more PhD students working for you.”