Elon Musk has confirmed that Grokipedia will be renamed as Encyclopedia Galactica, positioning it as a sci-fi inspired, AI-generated knowledge archive.
Elon Musk has confirmed that Grokipedia will undergo a major transformation, with the platform set to be renamed Encyclopedia Galactica. Musk revealed that Grokipedia was always a temporary name and that the long-term vision is a fully open-source, AI-generated repository of human knowledge.
Announcing the shift, Musk said, “When Grokipedia is good enough (long way to go), we will change the name to Encyclopedia Galactica. It will be an open source distillation of all knowledge, including audio, images and video. Join @xAI to help build the sci-fi version of the Library of Alexandria!” He later added a preservation-driven twist: “Copies will be etched in stone and sent to the Moon, Mars and beyond. This time, it will not be lost.”
The new name draws directly from Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series, an influence Musk has repeatedly acknowledged for shaping his views on civilisation, technology and humanity’s future. Grok itself borrows tone and personality from Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, a connection Musk nodded to again when responding to a user suggestion with, “maybe we should.”
Grokipedia currently operates as an AI-powered encyclopaedia built on xAI’s Grok LLM, generating and “fact checking” entries without human editing or user contributions. However, the platform has faced immediate scrutiny, with users pointing out that several entries appeared “nearly verbatim” copied from Wikipedia, alongside criticism that the system promoted right-wing viewpoints despite Musk’s claims of bias-free output.
xAI positions Grok as a chatbot designed to “answer questions with a bit of wit and has a rebellious streak,” aligning with its sci-fi inspirations and Musk’s broader mission of delivering “truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.”
