The social media platform is changing Grok after a complaint that it produced false information about voting deadlines in US states.
Social media platform X has changed its AI chatbot after five US secretaries of state warned it was spreading misinformation about the election.
Top election officials from Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Washington sent a letter to Musk this month complaining that the platform’s AI chatbot, Grok, produced 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 chatbot instead direct users with election-related questions to CanIvote.org, a voting information website run by the National Association of Secretaries of State.
Before listing answers to election-related questions, the chatbot now says: “For accurate and up-to-date information about the 2024 U.S. election, please visit Vote.gov.”
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 premium versions of X. But the 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.
The change that promotes a link to an official voting site does not appear to address Grok’s ability to create misleading AI-generated images related to the election. 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 Musk as a “rebel” AI chatbot that will answer “spicy questions that are rejected by most other AI systems.”
Social media platforms are under increasing scrutiny for their role in spreading misinformation, particularly about elections.
The letter also warns that inaccuracies are to be expected for AI products, particularly chatbots such as Grok that are based on large language models.
From Musk bought Twitter in 2022 and renamed it X, watchdog groups expressed concerns about an increase in hate speech and amplified misinformation on the platform, as well as cuts to staff who moderated content.
