Grok kept talking about 'white genocide' due to an 'unauthorized modification'

In the early hours of May 14, xAI's chatbot Grok repeatedly gave X users responses that referred to claims about a "white genocide" in South Africa even if their inquiries had nothing to do about the subject. Now, in a statement posted on the social network, Elon Musk's AI company has explained that "an unauthorized modification" to Grok's prompt on X caused it to "provide a specific response on a political topic." It didn't say what had happened to the personnel involved in rolling out the rogue update. But it added that the modification violated its "internal policies and core values" and that it has conducted a thorough investigation about the incident.

The website's various users had posted several instances wherein Grok included references to the controversial claims that white South African farmers are facing racial discrimination and land seizures in ...