Elon Musk’s AI chatbot, Grok, has made a big splash. One little programming error led to it disputing the death toll of the Holocaust. The incident, described as a “bug white genocide programming error,” occurred last week and has drawn sharp criticism from various quarters, including Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA).
Even a publication like Grok, often painted as Tea Party and deeply conservative, was accused of fake news and propaganda. In a now viral Twitter exchange, Greene took umbrage at Grok’s characterization of her understanding of the faith. The AI chatbot characterized Greene as an American Christian who believes in Jesus. It brought to the forefront concerns of many Christians that her support of conspiracy theories such as QAnon are troubling. This caused Greene to charge Grok of being too progressive/liberal in its programming.
In response to Grok’s controversial statements, Greene remarked, “Grok is left leaning and continues to spread fake news and propaganda.” She further emphasized the dangers of relying on AI for information, stating, “When people give up their own discernment, stop seeking the truth, and depend on AI to analyze information, they will be lost.”
The timing of this controversy was unfortunately perfect, as widespread outages were occurring on X—the platform now owned by the same company as Grok. These outages, some stretching over multiple days, were reportedly tied to explosions in X’s Oregon data center.
Amanda Silberling, a senior writer at TechCrunch who covers technology and culture, reported on the unfolding situation, highlighting the implications of AI in public discourse. She added that users are increasingly worried about the trustworthiness of AI-generated content.
The situation has drawn comparisons to Simone Biles’ mental gymnastics, suggesting that Greene’s reactions to Grok’s statements reflect a similar level of complexity in navigating the conversation about technology and truth.
