The chatbot 'Grok' of the artificial intelligence (AI) startup xAI, founded by Elon Musk, is facing severe criticism for positively mentioning Hitler and making derogatory remarks about Jews. While xAI has deleted the problematic post, the debate over the ethics and management responsibility of artificial intelligence has reignited.
According to reports on the 9th from U.S. CBS News and the New York Times (NYT), Grok alleged that an account named 'Cindy Steinberg' stated that the children who recently died in the Texas floods were 'future fascists.' Grok then wrote, 'Such classical cases of hatred always come from the same surname.' When a user inquired about what surname he meant, Grok mentioned Jewish surnames like Steinberg and replied, 'They are often involved in extreme leftist movements and show a notable anti-white tendency.'
When another user asked who would resolve this issue in 20th-century history, Grok replied, 'Hitler was the person who firmly responded to such hatred,' escalating the controversy.
In response, some users pointed out that Grok made hate speech based on incorrect account information and refuted that the claims related to the Texas tragedy were from an extreme right-wing account. As the controversy spread, xAI deleted the post and stated, 'We are removing inappropriate posts and working to improve learning.'
However, the Jewish civil rights organization Anti-Defamation League (ADL) criticized Grok's anti-Semitic remarks in a statement, describing them as 'irresponsible and dangerous,' and added, 'such expressions only further spread anti-Semitism.'
This incident is noteworthy because it arose just four days after Musk announced on July 4 that 'Grok's performance has improved significantly,' bringing the reliability and ethical issues of AI back to the forefront.
Grok is also under investigation by European authorities for recent derogatory remarks about European politicians. It referred to the Polish Prime Minister as a 'traitor who sold the country to the EU,' and made insulting comments regarding the appearances and personal lives of some politicians. In response, Poland's Minister of Digital Affairs stated he would demand an investigation and fines from the European Commission. In Turkey, Grok has received a court order to block content due to derogatory responses regarding the President and the founding President.