Latest news with #antiapartheid
News24
4 days ago
- General
- News24
Cradock Four inquest: Brutal murders were ‘calculated and premeditated', court told
Four anti-apartheid activists - Matthew Goniwe, Fort Calata, Sparrow Mkonto and Sicelo Mhlauli - were abducted and brutally murdered by apartheid security forces in June 1985. The families of the victims still seek justice 40 years later despite two previous inquests identifying security forces as responsible for the killings of the Cradock Four. The current inquest at the Eastern Cape High Court in Gqeberha will continue until 12 June, including site visits to the Goniwe family home, Cradock Four Monument, and the scene of abduction. The murder of the Cradock Four by the apartheid regime's security forces was calculated and premeditated, the inquest into the deaths of the anti-apartheid activists heard on the first day of its reopening on Monday. The inquest is being held at the Eastern Cape High Court in Gqeberha. Matthew Goniwe, Fort Calata, Sparrow Mkonto and Sicelo Mhlauli, popularly known as the Cradock Four, were abducted and viciously murdered by the South African security police in June 1985. This was after they were detained at a roadblock near Gqeberha. The first inquest was opened in 1987 and concluded in February 1989 with no prosecution. A second inquest in 1994 was presided by Judge Neville Zietsman who found security forces responsible for the murders and established that a case of suspicion had been made out against police officers and members of South African Defence Force (SADF). Despite the findings, no action was taken against them. On behalf of the families of the victims, Howard Varney from law firm Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, said it was unfortunate that 40 years later, the families were still waiting for justice. Varney said the victims were murdered as part of apartheid regime's ruthless campaign against those mobilising resistance against the oppression. He added: These were four young men who had so much to offer South Africa. They were visionaries and leaders. They were deeply loved and treasured by their families, friends and comrades. 'We intend to demonstrate that the deaths of the Cradock Four were brought about by a way of a calculated and premeditated decision by the apartheid regime. It was meticulously planned by the security branch in an official operation.' Varney added that the Eastern Cape, Cradock in particular, was an epicentre of the fight back against apartheid. 'We believe that the role of the state security council in authorising or approving the elimination of the Cradock Four should be closely investigated by this inquest,' Varney added. Advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, SC, who represents some Goniwe family members and the Cradock community, said there was a possibility the 'full truth' could be told in the third inquest. 'There is also a possibility of closure from a perspective of psychological trauma,' he added. The inquest, which is expected to continue until 12 June, will include an inspection in loco at the Goniwe family home in Nxuba (formerly Cradock), the Cradock Four Monument and the Olifantskop Pass - the scene of the abduction of the four, about 89km from Gqeberha. Families of the victims, Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane and Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi attended the proceedings on Monday. Judge Nomathamsanqa Beshe said the purpose of an inquest was to establish whether the death of anyone who died of something other natural causes has been brought about by any act involving or amounting to an offence on the part of any person or persons. 'In the previously held inquests, the presiding officers concluded or held that the deaths of the Cradock Four were brought about by an unknown person or persons. I will be required to make a finding as to whether the deaths were brought about by an act or omission prima facie involving or amounting to an offence on the part of any person or persons.'
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Someone flipped a switch on Elon Musk's Grok AI so it wouldn't stop banging on about 'white genocide' and South African politics, xAI blames 'an unauthorized modification' but doesn't say who did it
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Elon Musk's Grok AI has been having a very normal one: It's become obsessed with South African racial politics and answering unrelated queries with frequent references to the apartheid-era resistance song, "Kill the Boer." It's an anti-apartheid song calling for black people to stand up against oppression, but the lyrics "kill the Boer" have been decried by Musk and others for promoting violence against whites: the word "Boer" refers to the Dutch-descended white settlers of South Africa who founded its apartheid regime. For example, in response to a user query asking it to put a speech from Pope Leo XIV in Fortnite terms, Grok launched into what initially seemed a decent response using Fortnite terminology: then swerved partway through and started talking about "Kill the Boer." When Grok was asked why, it gave a further digression on the song, starting: "The 'Kill the Boer' chant, rooted in South Africa's anti-apartheid struggle, is a protest song symbolizing resistance, not a literal call to violence, as ruled by South African courts. However, it remains divisive, with some arguing it incites racial hatred against white farmers." This is far from the first time an AI model has gone off-piste, but the curious thing here is the link between Grok's behaviour and the interests of Musk himself, who is outspoken about South African racial politics and is currently on a kick about various forms of "white genocide." Only yesterday the billionaire claimed that Starlink was being denied a license in South Africa because "I am not black," Grok's corresponding obsession now appears to have been significantly damped-down after all the attention saw it inserting racial screeds into answers on many unrelated topics, including questions about videogames, baseball, and the revival of the HBO brand name. "It doesn't even really matter what you were saying to Grok," computer scientist Jen Golbeck told AP. "It would still give that white genocide answer. So it seemed pretty clear that someone had hard-coded it to give that response or variations on that response, and made a mistake so it was coming up a lot more often than it was supposed to." Golbeck went on to say that the concerning thing here is the uniformity of the responses, which suggest they were hard-coded rather than the result of AI hallucinations. "We're in a space where it's awfully easy for the people who are in charge of these algorithms to manipulate the version of truth that they're giving," Golbeck said. "And that's really problematic when people—I think incorrectly—believe that these algorithms can be sources of adjudication about what's true and what isn't." Musk has in the past criticised other AIs being infected by "the woke mind virus" and frequently also gets on his hobby horse about transparency around these systems. Which was certainly noted by some. "There are many ways this could have happened. I'm sure xAI will provide a full and transparent explanation soon," said OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, one of Musk's great rivals in the AI space, adding: "But this can only be properly understood in the context of white genocide in South Africa. As an AI programmed to be maximally truth seeking and follow my instr…" Musk is yet to comment, but a new post from xAI claims Grok's behaviour was down to "an unauthorized modification" that "directed Grok to provide a specific response on a political topic." Sounds familiar: this is the basically the same excuse it used last time Grok did something dodgy. It says this "violated xAI's internal policies and core values. We have conducted a thorough investigation and are implementing measures to enhance Grok's transparency and reliability." It outlines a variety of remedies to its review processes, including publishing Grok system prompts openly on GitHub. Notably the explanation does not address which "xAI employee" made the change, nor whether disciplinary action will be taken—don't hold your breath. 2025 games: This year's upcoming releasesBest PC games: Our all-time favoritesFree PC games: Freebie festBest FPS games: Finest gunplayBest RPGs: Grand adventuresBest co-op games: Better together
