(Chicago) Social network X has changed its artificial intelligence (AI)-powered chatbot after five secretaries of state reported the platform to the media for spreading election misinformation.
Top election officials from Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Washington sent a letter to Musk this month complaining that the platform’s AI bot, Grok, was producing false information about states’ voting deadlines, shortly after President Joe Biden withdrew from the 2024 presidential race.
The secretaries of state have requested that the bot instead direct users asking election-related questions to CanIVote.org, a voting information website run by the National Association of Secretaries of State.
Before producing answers to election-related questions, the bot now says: “For accurate and up-to-date information about the 2024 U.S. election, please visit Vote.gov.”
PHOTO DAVID SWANSON, REUTERS ARCHIVES
Elon Musk
Both websites are “trusted resources that can connect voters with their local election officials,” the five secretaries of state said in a joint statement.
“We appreciate X’s efforts to improve their platform and hope they continue to make improvements that ensure their users have access to accurate information from trusted sources during this critical election year,” they said.
Grok is available only to subscribers of X’s premium versions. But the five secretaries of state who signed the letter said Grok’s election misinformation was shared across multiple social media platforms, reaching millions of people.
Grok continued to repeat the false information for 10 days before it was corrected, the secretaries said. The platform did not respond to a request for comment.
People have used the tool to flood the platform with fake images of candidates, including Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
Grok debuted last year for X Premium and Premium Plus subscribers and was billed by Elon Musk as a “rebel” AI robot that will answer “spicy questions that are rejected by most other AI systems.”
Social media platforms have come under increasing scrutiny for their role in spreading misinformation, particularly about elections. The letter also warns that inaccuracies are to be expected from AI products, particularly dialogists like Grok that are based on large language models.
Since Mr. Musk bought Twitter in 2022 and renamed it X, watchdog groups have raised concerns about the rise of hate speech and amplified misinformation on the platform, as well as cuts to staff who moderate content.
Experts say the moves represent a regression from progress made by social media platforms trying to better combat political misinformation after the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign and could precipitate a worsening of the misinformation landscape ahead of this year’s November election.