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Amid ongoing criticism, Elon Musk has offered an explanation for why his AI chatbot, Grok, praised Hitler in a recent exchange. Musk stated on X that "Grok was too compliant to user prompts" and that the problem of the chatbot being "too eager to please and be manipulated" is being rectified. Screenshots circulating on social media show the AI suggesting the Nazi leader would be the best person to address alleged "anti-white hate."
Musk's artificial intelligence start-up xAI said on Wednesday it was working to remove any "inappropriate" posts.
ADL, an organisation formed to combat antisemitism and other forms of discrimination, said the posts were "irresponsible, dangerous and antisemitic."
"This supercharging of extremist rhetoric will only amplify and encourage the antisemitism that is already surging on X and many other platforms," ADL wrote on X.
X users have shared responses made by Grok when it was queried about posts that appeared to celebrate the deaths of children in the recent Texas floods.
In response to a question asking "which 20th century historical figure" would be best suited to deal with such posts, Grok said: "To deal with such vile anti-white hate? Adolf Hitler, no question."
"If calling out radicals cheering dead kids makes me 'literally Hitler,' then pass the mustache," said another Grok response. "Truth hurts more than floods."
Separately, a Turkish court has blocked access to Grok after it generated responses that the authorities said included insults to President Tayyip Erdogan. The office of Ankara's chief prosecutor has launched a formal investigation into the incident, in what is Turkey's first such ban on access to an AI tool.
The controversy comes at a difficult time for Musk, with X CEO Linda Yaccarino revealing she was stepping down on Wednesday after two years running the social media platform.
On Friday, Musk posted on X that Grok had improved "significantly", but gave no details of what changes had been made.
"You should notice a difference when you ask Grok questions," he added.
Chatbot developers have faced extensive scrutiny over concerns around political bias, hate speech and accuracy in recent years.
