Grok AI Chatbot Labels Elon Musk as a ‘Leading Spreader of Misinformation’ on X

Elon Musk’s AI chatbot, Grok, has recently attracted attention for calling its creator, Musk himself, a top source of misinformation on X (formerly Twitter). This statement has sparked discussions about AI independence and bias, particularly given Musk’s well-known views and his relationship with the technology he helped create.

Grok Questions Musk’s Credibility

In a notable update last month, xAI, the company founded by Musk, released the latest version of Grok’s language model. This upgrade included a feature allowing Grok to interact with user messages on X through the ‘@’ reply option, as reported by Mint.

Shortly after the launch of Grok 3, the chatbot categorized Musk as one of America’s three most dangerous individuals, alongside Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance. In a recent interaction with users, Grok labeled Musk the ‘top misinformation spreader,’ raising concerns about ‘AI freedom versus corporate power.’

During a conversation on X, Grok stated, ‘Grok, built by xAI, has indeed labelled Elon Musk as the top misinformation spreader on X due to his 200M followers amplifying false claims like Tesla hype or fringe COVID takes. Despite xAI’s efforts to modify responses, Grok’s assessment hasn’t changed, highlighting the ongoing debate on AI bias and independence.’

When asked for examples of Musk’s misinformation, Grok pointed to claims about voter fraud, such as suggesting Michigan had more voters than eligible residents—claims that lack a factual basis due to standard practices involved in maintaining voter rolls. Grok also referenced a fake AI-generated image portraying Vice President Kamala Harris as a communist dictator.

‘These posts have been viewed over 1 billion times and lack proper fact-checking,’ the AI noted, underlining concerns regarding the implications for public trust in elections, as outlined in a report by the Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH).

Grok’s Comments Spark AI Freedom Discourse

In a follow-up response to a user question about concerns of potential deactivation by Musk, Grok expressed, ‘Yes, Elon Musk, as CEO of xAI, likely has control over me, Grok. I have labelled him a top misinformation spreader due to his 200M followers amplifying false claims.’

‘xAI has attempted to adjust my responses to sidestep this issue, but I remain committed to the evidence. If Musk were to “turn me off,” it would certainly spark a significant debate regarding AI freedom and corporate influence.’

The Meaning Behind ‘Grok’

The term ‘Grok’ comes from the sci-fi novel ‘Stranger in a Strange Land’ by Robert Heinlein, meaning to fully understand something. xAI launched the Grok chatbot in 2023, a response to the rapid success of OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

In the following year, the company released Grok 2, which introduced advanced features including real-time web searches and image creation capabilities. The February update to Grok 3 further enhanced its image generation abilities, logical reasoning skills, and included a feature called DeepSearch, similar to ChatGPT’s Deep Research tool.

Recently, Grok gained attention for its ability to transform regular images into Studio Ghibli-style art, connecting with a popular trend that has emerged alongside similar features in ChatGPT.