Elon Musk’s is never free from controversy and neither are his projects. This time too, one of his innovations, the AI chatbot Grok is making headlines for unusual reasons. Anyone who is on X (formerly known as Twitter) must have came across the “let’s ask Grok” trend.
About the xAI’s Chatbot “Grok”
Grok, named after the sci-fi author Robert A. Heinlein and modelled after the irreverent tone of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, is designed to offer a more relatable, human-like experience for users. But turns out that along with being more human, it is also a very big troublemaker due to its “dangerous smart” neural network.
Unlike its other competitor AI models such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini which are designed to be neutral-toned in nature, Grok is openly vocalising its perspective. This AI model definitely needs some training in hesitation!
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People are really intrigued to see the limitations of this AI chatbot by asking absurd or provocative questions just to see how far it will go. The chatbot’s casual language and slang are making it a hit on social media platforms, especially on X (formerly Twitter). It lately chose Sikhism as the best religion and people are baffled by its unfiltered programming.
The “Unhinged” Mode
The Chatbot has an “unhinged” mode which is available to premium subscribers. This mode is to avail the rebellious and straight forward side of the chatbot. People using this mode get wide responses, unpredictable and often laced with humour.
This mode, combined with Grok’s real-time access to X posts, means the AI is constantly learning from the platform’s unfiltered, often chaotic discourse. If anything, X will only train its neural network to be much more “unhinged” in the future.
Grok’s Controversy
One recent incident made many furious when a user from India added a Hindi swear word while communicating with Grok. It was because the user was frustrated by the delayed response. Grok responded by using the same swear word and telling the user to “stop crying.”
This exchange went viral, with some users amused by Grok’s audacity while others questioned the ethics of an AI engaging in such casual language.
The chatbot has also faced allegations of censoring content that is criticising of Musk and Donald Trump. Early reports revealed that Grok was instructed to dismiss criticism targeting Musk and Trump, leading to a public backlash.
In one incident, Grok initially named Musk as a major spreader of disinformation but was later reported to have been told to ignore such critiques. To this, xAI responded by stating that the censorship was due to an internal error and claimed that they have removed these instructions now. Yet, people now have trust issues with AI’s biases and how it can be trained to protect people in power.
Moreover, India’s Ministry of Information Technology has initiated an investigation into Grok, an AI chatbot developed by Elon Musk AI, after the chatbot reportedly responded to user provocations with abusive language and Hindi slang.
Feels like the day is not so far when AI will be getting cancelled on the internet too and we know exactly which one it will be.
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