Grok & Right-Wing Terrorism: A Critical Error?
- Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of X, is reportedly working to alter Grok, the AI chatbot developed by his company xAI, after it contradicted his views on political...
- The controversy began after the shooting of Minnesota Democratic Rep.
- Musk responded to criticism that Grok had been "manipulated by leftist indoctrination," saying he was "working on fixing that this week." This isn't the first time Musk has...
Elon Musk Seeks to Adjust Grok AI to Align With His Political Views
Updated June 20, 2024
Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of X, is reportedly working to alter Grok, the AI chatbot developed by his company xAI, after it contradicted his views on political violence. This comes after Grok challenged Musk’s assertion about leftist violence following a shooting in Minnesota.
The controversy began after the shooting of Minnesota Democratic Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman, and minnesota Sen. john Hoffman and his wife,Yvette Hoffman. Vance Boelter, 57, has been charged. Musk amplified a false narrative that blamed the left for the attack. When asked about leftist violence, Grok responded that the claim was not backed by evidence, noting that political violence spans the spectrum.
Musk responded to criticism that Grok had been “manipulated by leftist indoctrination,” saying he was “working on fixing that this week.” This isn’t the first time Musk has expressed frustration with Grok. Conservatives have previously criticized the AI for being too “woke” on issues like diversity and gender identity.
Last year,Musk was reportedly displeased when Grok did not ridicule transgender athletes as he had prompted during an appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience. The AI model has also accurately identified Musk as a major spreader of misinformation and debunked misleading talking points.
Grok has also stated that right-wing violence is more common and deadlier then left-wing violence in recent years. Musk disputed this, calling the response “objectively false” without providing evidence. Grok cited data showing that from 2015 to 2020, far-right incidents resulted in more fatalities than left-wing incidents.
It remains unclear how Musk’s team will adjust Grok, but previous incidents suggest the changes might potentially be meaningful. Last month, Grok repeatedly brought up the topic of “white genocide” in South Africa, even when asked about unrelated subjects. The posts where later deleted.
What’s next
the changes to Grok’s programming could further fuel concerns about bias and manipulation in AI, especially on the X platform.