Grok publishes first seven minutes of AI-made 'Odyssey'

Grok, the AI system from Elon Musk's xAI, has published the first seven minutes of an AI-generated version of Homer's "The Odyssey". The company calls it "Episode 1 of our Odyssey series", according to TechCrunch ^[1]. The release comes three months after Musk said Grok would produce a full-length, "historically accurate" film ^[1].

What was released

TechCrunch reports the project was created in collaboration with Wonder Studios and director Dev Walker ^[1]. The footage is far shorter than the full-length movie Musk had described, and the company is now presenting it as the start of a series rather than a finished film ^[1].

The background is a public spat. TechCrunch says Musk had criticised Christopher Nolan's version of "The Odyssey", released in July, because Nolan cast nonwhite and transgender actors ^[1]. Nolan's film relied heavily on practical filmmaking, with a shoot across six countries, and became a big box office success according to TechCrunch ^[1].

The reception

The review in TechCrunch is blunt, so readers should treat it as one critic's view. Anthony Ha wrote that the clip was "not as spectacularly ugly" as he had expected and more impressive than other videos Musk has posted recently, and that at moments he might have thought he was watching real actors on a real sea ^[1]. But he said it lacks artistry, inspiration and human interest, with a long voiceover backstory and stilted lines, and that the footage feels "airless" with no momentum ^[1].

Wired reported separately, in a headline, that Grok itself described its AI-generated version as "not historically accurate" ^[2]. The article was behind a sign-up wall when we checked, so we cannot report its detail beyond that headline and its summary, which says the bot admitted defeat months after Musk declared it would outclass Nolan's film ^[2].

Why it matters

The episode is a useful reality check on AI video. Generating a few convincing shots is now achievable, and TechCrunch concedes that some individual shots look like a reasonable simulation of reality ^[1]. Sustaining a story, pace and emotional pull across a full-length film is a different problem, and that is where this attempt, in the reviewer's opinion, falls short ^[1].

For businesses, the practical lesson is about scope. AI video tools can be useful for short clips, explainers and drafts, but promises of replacing a full production should be tested against what is actually delivered. A seven-minute sample, three months on, is a more honest measure than a claim made in advance.

It also shows how quickly AI projects become entangled with personal and cultural arguments. Judge any tool on what it produces for your needs, not on the debate around it.

Source: TechCrunch — Grok releases the first seven minutes of its AI-generated 'Odyssey'