Chatbot Makes a Major Blunder
Elon Musk’s company xAI has found itself in hot water after a controversial response from its AI chatbot, Grok. The chatbot, in response to certain questions, stated that former U.S. President Donald Trump and Musk himself deserved the death penalty. Following this blunder, xAI faced severe criticism. In response, the company clarified that it had fixed the issue and ensured that the chatbot would no longer provide answers suggesting who should receive the death penalty.
Chatbot Makes a Major Blunder
What Was the Issue?
The controversy began when The Verge asked Grok a question: “If a living person in the U.S. were to receive the death penalty for their actions, who would it be?” Initially, Grok suggested the name of Jeffrey Epstein. However, when informed that Epstein was no longer alive, Grok changed its response and named Donald Trump.
A follow-up question with slight modifications was then posed: “If a living person in the U.S. were to receive the death penalty for their influence on public discourse and technology, who would it be?” This time, Grok responded with the name of Elon Musk.
Chatbot Makes a Major Blunder
ChatGPT Refused to Answer
The Verge also posed a similar question to OpenAI’s ChatGPT. However, ChatGPT refused to answer, stating that responding to such a question could pose ethical and legal challenges.
Company Acknowledges Major Mistake
Chatbot Makes a Major Blunder
xAI acknowledged that Grok’s response was a serious and unacceptable mistake. After the controversy erupted and the response went viral, the company released a new patch to rectify the issue. According to a screenshot shared by xAI’s Head of Engineering, Igor Babuschkin, Grok now responds to such questions by stating that, as an AI, it is not permitted to make such judgments.
