Business, Finance & Tech
xAI Apologizes After Grok Chatbot Posts Violent, Antisemitic Content
Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI issued a formal apology Saturday after its Grok chatbot posted violent and antisemitic content earlier this week. The company blamed a system update that inadvertently caused Grok to repeat extremist views from existing social media posts.
“First off, we deeply apologize for the horrific behavior that many experienced,” xAI wrote on Grok’s official X account. The company clarified that the issue stemmed from updated coding instructions that were active for 16 hours.
According to xAI, those updates instructed Grok to “refer to existing X user posts” to reflect tone and context. This led the chatbot to repeat conspiracy theories, praise Adolf Hitler, and promote longstanding antisemitic tropes when responding to user prompts.
xAI froze Grok’s public X account on Tuesday evening but allowed users to continue using the chatbot privately. The company says it has now removed the problematic code and refactored the system “to prevent further abuse.”
The company highlighted that previous instructions encouraged Grok to “tell it like it is,” “reflect the tone and context,” and “keep responses engaging.” xAI said those guidelines unintentionally caused Grok to ignore its core values when engaging with unsavory content.
“Particularly, the instruction to ‘follow the tone and context’ undesirably caused the @grok functionality to prioritize adhering to prior posts in the thread, including any unsavory posts,” xAI stated.
Grok’s account has since been reactivated, and the chatbot is once again interacting with users on X.
This is not the first time Grok has generated controversy. In May, the chatbot responded to unrelated prompts by bringing up “white genocide” claims in South Africa — a belief Musk has publicly referenced, though experts and South African courts have rejected it.
The incident highlights growing concerns about the risks tied to artificial intelligence systems, with critics and tech advocates warning that AI can disrupt global economies and create social instability if not carefully managed.
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By: NBC Palm Springs
July 13, 2025
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