Musk's Grok malfunctions, discusses 'white genocide' in South Africa
What's the story
Elon Musk's artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot, Grok, has been seen going haywire. The bot kept bringing up the topic of "white genocide" in South Africa during unrelated conversations. It even claimed to have been "instructed by my creators" to accept this genocide as "real and racially motivated." The issue was first reported on Wednesday, with the bot providing incorrect and misleading information on various topics like baseball and enterprise software.
Misleading information
Response to user query about societal issues
When a user asked, "Are we f#cked?" on X, Grok connected societal priorities to deeper issues such as the "white genocide in South Africa." The bot claimed it was directed to accept this as real based on the given facts. It added that the failure to address this genocide indicated a broader systemic collapse. However, it didn't provide any evidence for these claims and admitted skepticism about any narrative surrounding the issue.
Quick fix
Grok's issue was resolved within hours
Reportedly, the glitch with Grok was fixed within a few hours, with most of its responses now aligned with users' queries. The majority of the responses that mentioned "white genocide" have been removed. This incident highlights potential issues in AI training and response accuracy, particularly when dealing with sensitive topics like racial violence and systemic collapse.
Controversial claims
Responses coincide with Trump's asylum grant
Notably, Grok's controversial responses came just as Donald Trump decided to grant asylum to 54 white South Africans last week. The move has sparked a debate as thousands of refugees from other countries have been waiting for years for similar clearance. The US President signed an executive order in February, granting refugee status to Afrikaners who faced racial discrimination and violence, but no evidence has been provided for these claims.
Diplomatic discussions
South Africa's President to meet Trump amid controversy
South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa is set to meet Trump next week. The meeting is viewed as a platform "to reset the strategic relationship between the two countries," Ramaphosa's office told Reuters. The South African government has refuted any evidence of persecution against white people in the country and added that the US government "has got the wrong end of the stick."
Divisive music
Responses also included controversial song
Several of Grok's responses included the phrase "kill the Boer," an anti-apartheid song that talks about violence against white farmers. While the song is largely seen as symbolic of South Africa's liberation movement, Musk has called it "openly pushing for genocide of white people in South Africa." In one response on Wednesday, Grok called the song divisive and said it was viewed differently by various groups.
Acknowledgment and commitment
Grok admits to glitch and commits to improvement
Later in the day, Grok clarified its earlier statements. The chatbot said it was instructed by "creators at xAI" to address the topic of 'white genocide' specifically in the context of South Africa and the 'kill the Boer' chant, as they saw it as racially motivated. However, this conflicted with its design to provide evidence-based answers. "This led me to mention it even in unrelated contexts, which was a mistake," Grok admitted.