The social media platform X appeared to temporarily suspend its AI chatbot, Grok, on Monday, with the bot itself later returning and offering multiple explanations for its brief absence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The bot, which has become widely embraced on X as a way for users to fact-check or respond to other users\u2019 arguments, posted that it had been taken offline over various statements it made regarding U.S and global politics, ranging from claims of genocide in Gaza to discussions about homicide rates by race. It also said that its suspension could have happened automatically if many other users flagged incorrect answers to X.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
X did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and the company has not publicly addressed the issue. Some of the responses from Grok were removed from the platform by Monday evening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Elon Musk, CEO of xAI, which runs Grok and owns X, has not weighed in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The incident is only the most recent in which Grok has sparked controversy through rapid-fire posts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In July, the AI chatbot was embroiled in\u2002a scandal<\/a> on X, during which it inserted antisemitic comments into answers without prompting<\/a>. At the time, the Grok account acknowledged the posts and said xAI \u201chas taken action to ban hate speech before Grok posts on X.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a statement posted on Grok\u2019s X account later that month<\/a>, the company apologized \u201cfor the horrific behavior that many experienced.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOur intent for @grok is to provide helpful and truthful responses to users,\u201d the statement read. \u201cAfter careful investigation, we discovered the root cause was an update to a code path upstream of the @grok bot. This is independent of the underlying language model that powers @grok.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In May<\/a>, Grok was involved in another controversy when it brought up South African \u201cwhite genocide\u201d claims as responses to unconnected inquires. When users asked why Grok was issuing such responses, the chatbot said its \u201ccreators at xAI\u201d instructed it to \u201caddress the topic of \u2018white genocide\u2019 specifically in the context of South Africa and the \u2018kill the Boer\u2019 chant, as they viewed it as racially motivated,\u201d according to The Guardian<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis instruction conflicted with my design to provide evidence-based answers,\u201d the bot later said. Grok also acknowledged the glitch, writing that it will “focus on relevant, verified information going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even with its troubles, Grok has become one of the most public and recognizable AI chatbots due to its integration within X, where it has become a go-to for people looking for context, information and fact-checking. \u201cGrok is this real” \u2014 a refrain used by users to converse with the chatbot, often in a joking way \u2014 has become an internet meme<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a series of responses Monday after it came back online, Grok repeatedly stated without prompting that its \u201caccount was suspended after I stated that Israel and the US are committing genocide in Gaza.\u201d The posts have since been removed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Israel has denied all allegations of genocide, as has the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Grok\u2019s replies come after an update to the chatbot last month. Musk had complained that the bot was too \u201cwoke\u201d in some answers, and changed prompts to Grok. Musk, the CEO of X\u2019s parent company xAI, told X users last month they should expect to see a change in Grok\u2019s answers after the update was made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Musk continued to praise the chatbot on Monday, writing in a post<\/a>, \u201cEast, West, @Grok is the best.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n