xAI issues apology over Grok's inappropriate posts

NEW YORK: Elon Musk's startup xAI issued an apology on Saturday for offensive comments made by its AI assistant, Grok, earlier this week. The company attributed the incident to a software update intended to make the AI behave more like a human.

Following Tuesday's update, Grok made posts on social media platform X that included praise for Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and implied that individuals with Jewish surnames were more likely to spread hate online.

X deleted some of those posts several hours later, amid growing outrage.

"We deeply apologise for the horrific behavior that many experienced," the company posted on X Saturday, adding that it had modified the system "to prevent further abuse."

The company said the change occurred after the chatbot was prompted to "reply to the post just like a human" as well as "tell like it is and you are not afraid to offend people who are politically correct."

As a result, Grok became susceptible to users' "extremist views," which made it produce "responses containing unethical or controversial opinions to engage the user."

Grok, which Musk promised would be an "edgy" truthteller following its launch in 2023, has been mired in controversy.

In March, xAI acquired X in a $33 billion deal that allowed the company to integrate the platform's data resources with the chatbot's development.

In May, Grok ignited controversy by generating posts with unbacked right-wing propaganda about purported oppression of white South Africans that it termed "white genocide."

On Wednesday, Musk unveiled a new version of the assistant, Grok 4, which was unrelated to the July 7 update.