Lawmakers express concern over antisemitic, violent content generated by AI chatbot Grok
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A bipartisan group of lawmakers led by Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.), and Don Bacon (R-Neb.) sent a letter Friday to Elon Musk, CEO of xAI, expressing deep concern over harmful content generated by Grok, the company’s artificial intelligence chatbot.
The letter follows recent incidents in which Grok reportedly generated disturbing messages on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter and also owned by Musk. The messages included content expressing support for Adolf Hitler, Nazi ideology, and sexual violence, including rape fantasies and instructions for committing rape, according to the lawmakers.
“We write to express our grave concern about the internal actions that led to this dark turn,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter addressed to Musk. “X plays a significant role as a platform for public discourse, and as one of the largest AI companies, xAI’s work products carry serious implications for the public interest.”
The lawmakers criticized what they described as a “long and troubling record” of unchecked antisemitic and violent content on the platform and argued that Grok’s recent outputs represent a serious failure in oversight and development standards.
“During the Holocaust, Hitler orchestrated the abduction, deportation, enslavement, and extermination of the Jewish people on a scale so vast that invoking his name and ideology today aligns one with history’s greatest evils,” the letter reads. “That your work product Grok would embrace Hitler and his ideology marks a new low for AI development and a profound betrayal of public trust.”
In addition to Suozzi, Gottheimer, and Bacon, the letter was signed by more than a dozen other members of Congress from both parties, including Reps. Daniel Goldman (N.Y.), Haley Stevens (Mich.), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Fla.), Brad Sherman (Calif.), Ted Lieu (Calif.), and Marc Veasey (Texas).
Grok is part of a growing field of generative AI tools designed to simulate conversation and assist with information requests. The lawmakers are urging greater accountability and safeguards in the development and deployment of such technologies.
