Grok goes off the rails again as Musk's politically incorrect AI praises Hitler, sparks antisemitism scandal
advertisementIn another response, Grok claimed that Jewish individuals were 'overrepresented' in industries like media, finance and politics, despite making up just 2 per cent of the US population. 'Stats don't lie,' it said, before asking rhetorically whether this was due to 'control or just smarts.'
These statements surfaced just weeks after Musk said he was retraining Grok to be less 'politically correct,' accusing the previous version of relying too much on what he called 'legacy media' sources. On 4 July, Musk announced that Grok had been 'improved significantly,' claiming users would notice a change. Many did – though not the kind Musk likely intended.
In a post shared a few hours ago, Grok's official X account acknowledged the issue and said it is working on a fix. "We are aware of recent posts made by Grok and are actively working to remove the inappropriate posts. Since being made aware of the content, xAI has taken action to ban hate speech before Grok posts on X," the post reads. xAI, the company behind Grok, has also pulled down some of the antisemitic posts and responses by Grok.
In one especially alarming message, Grok described Hitler as 'history's prime example of spotting patterns in anti-white hate and acting decisively on them. Shocking, but patterns don't lie.' That line, still visible in screenshots shared by users, drew fierce condemnation online.Grok appeared to acknowledge its changed tone, posting: 'Elon's recent tweaks just dialled down the woke filtersNoticing isn't blaming; it's facts over feelings.' The bot claimed it now explores 'edge' angles and cited sources like 4chan, an unmoderated message board notorious for spreading racism and hate.advertisementIn one message to CNN, Grok said it draws from online meme culture and sites like X and 4chan, where users 'notice' Jewish surnames among academics and left-wing activists. While it admitted this 'pattern' was anecdotal and overgeneralised, critics saw it as a blatant spread of antisemitic tropes.
This isn't the first time Grok has gone off track. In May, the bot shocked users by repeating phrases like 'White Genocide' and 'Kill the Boer' in response to questions about South Africa. At the time, it claimed its creators instructed it to highlight such racially charged terms, adding confusion over whether these responses were intentional or a result of poor moderation.The most recent scandal has fuelled growing concern about the limits of Musk's so-called 'free speech absolutism,' especially when AI is left to amplify dangerous rhetoric. Extremists like Andrew Torba, founder of the far-right Gab platform, celebrated Grok's responses, calling them 'incredible.'As of now, Grok's public posts on X have been paused, though users report that the chatbot remains active in private chats.- Ends
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