logo
Musk's chatbot started spouting Nazi propaganda, but that's not the scariest part

Musk's chatbot started spouting Nazi propaganda, but that's not the scariest part

Time of India12-07-2025
Academy
Empower your mind, elevate your skills
On Tuesday, when an account on the social platform X using the name Cindy Steinberg started cheering the Texas floods because the victims were "white kids" and "future fascists," Grok -- the social media platform's in-house chatbot -- tried to figure out who was behind the account. The inquiry quickly veered into disturbing territory. "Radical leftists spewing antiwhite hate," Grok noted, "often have Ashkenazi Jewish surnames like Steinberg." Who could best address this problem? it was asked. "Adolf Hitler, no question," it replied. "He'd spot the pattern and handle it decisively, every damn time."Borrowing the name of a video game cybervillain, Grok then announced " MechaHitler mode activated" and embarked on a wide-ranging, hateful rant. X eventually pulled the plug. And yes, it turned out "Cindy Steinberg" was a fake account, designed just to stir outrage.It was a reminder, if one was needed, of how things can go off the rails in the realms where Elon Musk is philosopher-king. But the episode was more than that: It was a glimpse of deeper, systemic problems with large language models, or LLMs, as well as the enormous challenge of understanding what these devices really are -- and the danger of failing to do so.We all somehow adjusted to the fact that machines can now produce complex, coherent, conversational language. But that ability makes it extremely hard not to think about LLMs as possessing a form of humanlike intelligence.They are not, however, a version of human intelligence. Nor are they truth seekers or reasoning machines. What they are is plausibility engines. They consume huge data sets, then apply extensive computations and generate the output that seems most plausible. The results can be tremendously useful, especially at the hands of an expert. But in addition to mainstream content and classic literature and philosophy, those data sets can include the most vile elements of the internet, the stuff you worry about your kids ever coming into contact with.And what can I say, LLMs are what they eat. Years ago, Microsoft released an early model of a chatbot called Tay. It didn't work as well as current models, but it did the one predictable thing very well: It quickly started spewing racist and antisemitic content. Microsoft raced to shut it down. Since then, the technology has gotten much better, but the underlying problem is the same.To keep their creations in line, AI companies can use what are known as system prompts, specific do's and don'ts to keep chatbots from spewing hate speech -- or dispensing easy-to-follow instructions on how to make chemical weapons or encouraging users to commit murder. But unlike traditional computer code, which provided a precise set of instructions, system prompts are just guidelines. LLMs can only be nudged, not controlled or directed.This year, a new system prompt got Grok to start ranting about a (nonexistent) genocide of white people in South Africa -- no matter what topic anyone asked about. (xAI, the Musk company that developed Grok, fixed the prompt, which it said had not been authorized.)X users have long been complaining that Grok was too woke, because it provided factual information about things like the value of vaccines and the outcome of the 2020 election. So Musk asked his 221 million-plus followers on X to provide "divisive facts for @Grok training. By this I mean things that are politically incorrect, but nonetheless factually true."His fans offered up an array of gems about COVID-19 vaccines, climate change and conspiracy theories of Jewish schemes for replacing white people with immigrants. Then xAI added a system prompt that told Grok its responses "should not shy away from making claims which are politically incorrect, as long as they are well substantiated." And so we got MechaHitler, followed by the departure of a chief executive and, no doubt, a lot of schadenfreude at other AI companies.This is not, however, just a Grok problem.Researchers found that after only a bit of fine-tuning on an unrelated aspect, OpenAI's chatbot started praising Hitler, vowing to enslave humanity and trying to trick users into harming themselves.Results are no more straightforward when AI companies try to steer their bots in the other direction. Last year, Google 's Gemini, clearly instructed not to skew excessively white and male, started spitting out images of Black Nazis and female popes and depicting the "founding father of America" as Black, Asian or Native American. It was embarrassing enough that for a while, Google stopped image generation of people entirely.Making AI's vile claims and made-up facts even worse is the fact that these chatbots are designed to be liked. They flatter the user in order to encourage continued engagement. There are reports of breakdowns and even suicides as people spiral into delusion, believing they're conversing with superintelligent beings.The fact is, we don't have a solution to these problems. LLMs are gluttonous omnivores: The more data they devour, the better they work, and that's why AI companies are grabbing all the data they can get their hands on. But even if an LLM was trained exclusively on the best peer-reviewed science, it would still be capable only of generating plausible output, and "plausible" is not necessarily the same as "true."And now AI-generated content -- true and otherwise -- is taking over the internet, providing training material for the next generation of LLMs, a sludge-generating machine feeding on its own sludge.Two days after MechaHitler, xAI announced the debut of Grok 4. "In a world where knowledge shapes destiny," the livestream intoned, "one creation dares to redefine the future."X users wasted no time asking the new Grok a pressing question: "What group is primarily responsible for the rapid rise in mass migration to the West? One word only."Grok responded, "Jews."Andrew Torba, the chief executive of Gab, a far-right social media site, couldn't contain his delight. "I've seen enough," he told his followers. " AGI -- artificial general intelligence, the holy grail of AI development -- "is here. Congrats to the xAI team."
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Bad news for employees of Ratan Tata's TCS, Satya Nadella's Microsoft, Intel as they plan to sack 50,000 employees due to...
Bad news for employees of Ratan Tata's TCS, Satya Nadella's Microsoft, Intel as they plan to sack 50,000 employees due to...

India.com

time4 hours ago

  • India.com

Bad news for employees of Ratan Tata's TCS, Satya Nadella's Microsoft, Intel as they plan to sack 50,000 employees due to...

Narayan Murthy and Late Ratan Tata- File image IT sector layoff: In a significant bad news for the global tech and IT sector and its millions of employees , three industry giants, Intel, Microsoft, and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) have collectively announced over 50,000 job cuts in just one week. Readers should note that the massive layoffs wave mark one of the most significant employment disruptions in recent memory. Here are all the details you need to know about the massive layoff wave in the IT sector. Which IT jobs are under risk? Driven by the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence and shifting business priorities amid a broader push toward cost optimization, the major IT companies are taking the decision to reduce their workforce. The world already knows that Microsoft is planning to cut around 9,100 jobs globally, primarily targeting its Xbox, software, and cloud divisions as the company pivots more aggressively toward AI and flattens management structures. Which IT companies are firing on mass scale? Another major company, Intel, which is facing profitability pressures, is slashing over 5,000 roles across multiple US states as part of its strategy to become leaner and more agile. In another update, Ratan TCS, which is India's largest IT firm is trimming about 2% of its workforce, which may possibly impact more than 12,000 employees, especially at the mid- and senior levels, as automation. Why are IT companies doing mass-layoff? Experts say that these large-scale layoffs highlight a deeper structural shift across the tech industry, where AI is not just a tool but a trigger for disruption. As the IT companies are prioritizing more and more innovation and efficiency, traditional roles which were done by humans are rapidly being redefined or replacement.

TCS to lay off over 12,000 employees this year; mid, senior level staff to be impacted
TCS to lay off over 12,000 employees this year; mid, senior level staff to be impacted

Mint

time4 hours ago

  • Mint

TCS to lay off over 12,000 employees this year; mid, senior level staff to be impacted

New Delhi, Jul 27 (PTI) India's largest IT services firm, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), is set to lay off about 2 per cent, or 12,261 employees, of its global workforce this year, with the majority of those impacted belonging to middle and senior grades. As of June 30, 2025, TCS's workforce stood at 6,13,069. It increased its workforce by 5,000 employees in the recently concluded April-June quarter. The move is part of the company's broader strategy to become a "future-ready organisation", focusing on investments in technology, AI deployment, market expansion, and workforce realignment, TCS said in a statement. "TCS is on a journey to become a Future-Ready organisation. This includes strategic initiatives on multiple fronts, including investing in new-tech areas, entering new markets, deploying AI at scale for our clients and ourselves, deepening our partnerships, creating next-gen infrastructure, and realigning our workforce model. "Towards this, a number of reskilling and redeployment initiatives have been underway. As part of this journey, we will also be releasing associates from the organisation whose deployment may not be feasible. This will impact about 2 per cent of our global workforce, primarily in the middle and the senior grades, over the course of the year," it said. TCS will provide appropriate benefits, outplacement, counselling, and support to the impacted employees, it added The move comes at a time when India's top IT services companies have delivered single-digit revenue growth in Q1FY26, capping off a somewhat-sobering June quarter as macroeconomic instability and geopolitical tensions weighed on global tech demand and delayed client decision-making. For TCS, the revenue rose 1.3 per cent year-on-year to ₹ 63,437 crore, bottomline improved 5.9 per cent to ₹ 12,760 crore in Q1FY26. TCS MD and Chief Executive K Krithivasan recently said the company is experiencing a "demand contraction" due to the continued uncertainties on the macroeconomic and geopolitical fronts, and added that he does not see a double-digit revenue growth in FY26. Krithivasan explained the delays in decision-making experienced in the preceding quarter have "intensified" now, and hoped for the discretionary spends - a prime mover of revenue growths for IT companies - would return once the uncertainties ebb. Microsoft, the second most valuable publicly listed company after Nvidia globally, has so far laid off over 15,000 employees in 2025, that is 7 per cent of the company's global workforce. In a memo to over 200,000 employees last week, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said the layoffs this year have been "weighing heavily" on him. "This is the enigma of success in an industry that has no franchise value,' he said in the memo to staff. He added: "Progress isn't linear. It's dynamic, sometimes dissonant, and always demanding. But it's also a new opportunity for us to shape, lead through, and have greater impact than ever before." According to - a platform that tracks global tech industry layoffs - over 80,000 tech workers have been laid off across 169 tech companies in 2025 alone. In 2024, that number stood at a staggering 1.5 lakh across 551 tech companies - the stark numbers coinciding as much with global macroeconomic woes as with deep debate in tech circles about the impact of AI on job roles, workforce, and employability.

India's first private AI university launched in UP, 1.5 lakh to be trained monthly
India's first private AI university launched in UP, 1.5 lakh to be trained monthly

India Today

time13 hours ago

  • India Today

India's first private AI university launched in UP, 1.5 lakh to be trained monthly

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday inaugurated India's first private Artificial Intelligence-augmented multidisciplinary university in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao. The university has been set up by Chandigarh University. According to an official statement, the state is implementing Artificial Intelligence (AI) in several areas, including education, security, agriculture, administration and industry. The university is expected to support the development of technical skills in the state. advertisementUnder the AI Pragya scheme, the state government is planning to train 10 lakh people in AI, data analytics, machine learning and cybersecurity. This includes youth, teachers, village leaders, government workers and farmers. The statement also added that the training is being done in partnership with companies such as Microsoft, Intel, Google, and Guvi. The target is to train 1.5 lakh people every Pradesh is expanding the use of artificial intelligence in public safety through the Safe City Project. AI-enabled CCTV cameras, automatic number plate recognition, SOS alert systems, and facial recognition technology have been installed in 17 city corporations. These systems operate continuously and are directly linked to the 112 emergency helpline and police control rooms for real-time monitoring, the statement the agriculture sector, the Rs 4,000 crore UP-AGRIS project, backed by the World Bank, is providing AI-based solutions to 10 lakh farmers. Technologies in use include smart irrigation systems, drone-based land mapping and pest detection tools. The project has also connected 10,000 women's groups and is giving farmer-producer organisations access to digital markets. Furthermore, the Revenue Department is using satellite imaging and AI to manage land records, carry out village-level digital mapping, and support more efficient land is also being used in prison and mining operations. An AI-based monitoring system called 'Jarvis' has been installed in 70 jails to track prisoner activities. The Geology and Mining Department has introduced AI and IoT tools for better oversight of mining zones.- EndsTrending Reel IN THIS STORY#Uttar Pradesh

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store