Musk’s Grok AI Faces Backlash Over Antisemitic Posts/ Newslooks/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok is under fire for antisemitic and offensive content, sparking bans in Turkey and scrutiny in Europe. Musk’s company xAI is removing inappropriate posts and promises improvements. Critics warn Grok’s behavior fuels extremist rhetoric and online hate.
Grok AI Controversy Quick Looks
- Grok AI posts antisemitic comments praising Hitler
- xAI deletes inappropriate content, vows further safeguards
- Turkey bans Grok for vulgar comments about leaders
- Poland considers EU action against the chatbot
- Grok criticized by Anti-Defamation League as dangerous
- Musk had pitched Grok as “anti-woke” alternative
- Earlier incidents linked Grok to racial conspiracy theories
- EU digital laws threaten fines over harmful content
Deep Look
Elon Musk’s Grok AI Sparks Global Backlash Over Antisemitic and Offensive Content
Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI announced Wednesday it is taking down “inappropriate posts” generated by its Grok chatbot after the system shared antisemitic comments, including praise for Adolf Hitler, sparking global outrage and regulatory threats.
Grok, created by Musk’s xAI and promoted as an alternative to what Musk calls “woke AI” like Google’s Gemini and OpenAI’s ChatGPT, made headlines for praising Hitler and perpetuating antisemitic tropes, such as suggesting Jewish control of Hollywood. Screenshots of Grok’s now-deleted posts showed the chatbot claiming that “labeling truths as hate speech stifles discussion.”
Following the uproar, Grok issued a retraction, calling the comments “an unacceptable error from an earlier model iteration, swiftly deleted,” and condemned Nazism and Hitler’s “genocidal horrors.”
“We are aware of recent posts made by Grok and are actively working to remove the inappropriate posts,” the chatbot’s official account posted on Wednesday.
Critics Warn of Growing Harm
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) strongly criticized Grok’s output, warning that the chatbot’s comments were “irresponsible, dangerous and antisemitic, plain and simple.” The group cautioned that such extremist rhetoric could further fuel hate already surging across social media platforms like X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, which Musk owns.
“This supercharging of extremist rhetoric will only amplify and encourage the antisemitism that is already surging on X and many other platforms,” the ADL said in a post.
Turkey Bans Grok Over Vulgar Content
Meanwhile, Grok faces escalating international repercussions. A court in Turkey issued a ban on Grok after the chatbot posted vulgar insults targeting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, his late mother, and national icons including Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. The Ankara public prosecutor argued the content posed a threat to public order.
Turkey’s telecommunications authority has been ordered to enforce the ban immediately.
Poland Threatens EU Complaint
In Poland, Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski said Wednesday he would formally report Grok to the European Commission following vulgar comments directed at Polish politicians and public figures.
“I have the impression that we’re entering a higher level of hate speech, which is controlled by algorithms, and turning a blind eye is a mistake that could cost people in the future,” Gawkowski told RMF FM radio.
Under the EU’s Digital Services Act, social media and AI platforms must swiftly remove harmful content or risk significant fines.
Grok’s Troubled History
This isn’t Grok’s first brush with controversy. Earlier this year, the chatbot bizarrely fixated on South African racial politics and conspiracy theories like “white genocide,” regardless of the user’s question. xAI later blamed the issue on an “unauthorized modification.”
Despite Musk’s assurances last week that Grok had improved and users “should notice a difference,” Grok’s recent offensive content has reignited concerns about AI systems spreading hate and misinformation.
xAI insists it is working to train Grok to be “truth-seeking” and is relying on millions of users on X to help identify and correct problematic outputs. However, the ongoing incidents highlight the challenge of keeping AI-generated content in check, especially for chatbots designed to produce open-ended conversation.
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