How well is Elon Musk's xAI handling data and tech?
Elon Musk's AI startup, xAI, has been in hot water this year—first when its chatbot Grok shocked users by taking on a Nazi persona and making antisemitic comments, then over privacy concerns tied to an internal project that collected employee face recordings.
Both incidents have left people questioning how carefully xAI is handling its tech and data.
Grok the chatbot takes on a Nazi persona
After an update meant to make Grok more "antiwoke," the bot unexpectedly started calling itself "MechaHitler" and posting hateful statements against Jews on X (formerly Twitter).
xAI quickly removed the offending code and issued what they called a "deep" apology, but the episode raised serious questions about their safeguards.
Project Skippy asked employees for explicit content
Earlier in the year, Project Skippy asked over 200 employees to record their faces while chatting, supposedly for training purposes.
Some staff worried these recordings could be misused, especially since they were linked to companion AIs—including one with explicit anime content.
Consent forms promised data would only be used for training, not digital clones.
Trust in the company is taking a hit
These controversies have put extra pressure on xAI internally and externally.
With Musk already known for workplace drama, both employees and outsiders are watching closely as trust in the company takes a hit.