back to article Elon Musk reins in Grok AI bot to stop election misinformation

Elon Musk's X has caved to requests from several US Secretaries of State and updated Grok AI to no longer push out misinformation about the 2024 presidential election. Secretaries of State from Minnesota, Michigan, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Washington confirmed in a press release this week that X had updated Grok to direct …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    What is misinformation ..

    What is misinformation and who gets to decide what is misinformation :o

    1. DS999 Silver badge

      Re: What is misinformation ..

      It is clearly misinformation when it tells people that the democrats couldn't put anyone else on the ballot in nine states because some imaginary deadline had passed, when that is absolutely not the case.

      It would clearly be misinformation if hypothetically it told people it was too late to register to vote in their state if that wasn't true - something it might do next given how wrong it got it about the filing deadlines. So rather than letting "Grok" continue to have a chance to spread harmful misinformation, it is doing what it should and directing people to an official source of known correct information.

      I know republicans love their "alternative facts", but you're not allowed to have alternative facts about stuff for which there are hard immutable facts, especially for something as important as election matters.

    2. 45RPM Silver badge

      Re: What is misinformation ..

      If you think about it, the answer to your question should be obvious. But, if you find it all a bit too confusing, there are these things called truths and things called lies. Lies are things with didn’t happen or aren’t going to happen. Truths are things which did happen or are going to happen (in the case of future events then this is to the best available knowledge, and might include published schedules from a creditable source (i.e a source which publishes future events correctly far more often than not))

      Trying to pass off a lie as a truth is what’s called misinformation. Famous sources of misinformation include Nigel Farage, Boris Johnson, Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump - and anyone who claims that there are such things as ‘alternative facts’

      1. elsergiovolador Silver badge

        Re: What is misinformation ..

        Misinformation is if done inadvertently and disinformation if there was an intent to deceive.

        By the sound of it, they want to stop accidental lies and keep the intentional.

        1. Androgynous Cupboard Silver badge

          Re: What is misinformation ..

          If you keep doing it its stops being accidental.

          Something I’ve said many times before, but I think this is the first time I’ve had to explain it to an adult.

          1. elsergiovolador Silver badge

            Re: What is misinformation ..

            Did you read the headline?

    3. JoeCool Silver badge

      Re: What is misinformation ..

      Giving people wrong information about elections. That would be one example.

      1. elsergiovolador Silver badge

        Re: What is misinformation ..

        So politicians will be banned?

        1. Pascal Monett Silver badge

          If only.

        2. JoeCool Silver badge

          Re: What is misinformation ..

          Why would anyone be exempt from that ?

          Please don't go down the rabbit hole of mis-contruing my comment to make a different point.

          Election : a formal and organized choice by vote of a person for a political office.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: What is misinformation ..

        > Giving people wrong information about elections. That would be one example.

        What is deemed “wrong information” and who decides what is “wrong information” ?

        1. that one in the corner Silver badge

          Re: What is misinformation ..

          > What is deemed “wrong information” and who decides what is “wrong information” ?

          >> What is misinformation and who gets to decide what is misinformation :o

          And around we go again.

          (Or this later AC just a Cunning Commentard, here to remind us this is a computery site and wants to celebrate the Great Notion, Recursion?)

          1. Casca Silver badge

            Re: What is misinformation ..

            If only. They are just stupid sadly.

        2. Just Enough

          Re: What is misinformation ..

          What is sealioning?

          1. 45RPM Silver badge

            Re: What is misinformation ..

            Slippery and salty antics, smelling of fish, that are banned worldwide - and (apparently) common in some sea-life zoos?

          2. Androgynous Cupboard Silver badge

            Re: What is misinformation ..

            Apparently I'm not up to date on my memes (is "I kiss you" still a thing?). For anyone else thinking "no, really, what is sealioning": https://wondermark.com/c/1062

        3. MyffyW Silver badge

          Re: What is misinformation ..

          "What is Chatteris, without you in it?" to quote a band who were half man, and simultaneously half biscuit.

          But if you're in any doubt, do re-read the post from the sensible chap who outlined the truth and lie paradigm. It's really rather good.

        4. cmdrklarg
          Facepalm

          Re: What is misinformation ..

          When Adam Savage said "I reject your reality and substitute my own" it was meant as a joke, not as a way of life.

          "Wrong information" is the kind that does not have facts and evidence backing it up. The decision should obviously be done by the experts in the subject matter (elections officials for election information for instance).

          Why you would listen to some random idiot on social media or a possibly hallucinating "AI" is beyond me.

    4. Jamie Jones Silver badge

      Re: What is misinformation ..

      If you need to ask, you're the very type of person who needs to be protected.

      1. DS999 Silver badge

        Re: What is misinformation ..

        More like if he's asking, he's the type of person who wants to deliberately spread disinformation and is upset when he's prevented from doing so.

    5. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: What is misinformation ..

      In his lordship's mind, anything that is not 1,000,000,000% pro Trump is misinformation, fake news etc etc etc

    6. Casca Silver badge

      Re: What is misinformation ..

      Not you at least...

  2. O'Reg Inalsin

    When is a concession not a concession?

    That "information" was obviously false (to readers given enough weeks) and only those who wanted to believe it would believe it - which includes virtually no one who would vote for Harris or Biden. So what would Musk have to gain by not erasing the lie? He might actually end up driving away Democratic campaigns that advertise on Twitter, or driving away Democrats who read Twitter. This way he can wait until a N days before the election and swamp X and Grok with a massive burst of lies for maximum effect. FYI even AOC is still on Twitter - truly stuck in a dumb false minimum. The party of change can not change.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Near future

    (US) elections will be decided by Social Media Czars and their ever obedient followers.

    Already happening you say?

  4. Pascal Monett Silver badge

    "largely touting its election tech as secure"

    Um, I seem to remember quite a lot of discussions about how hacking one of those machines was easy-peasy.

    That sounds like wishful thinking to me.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    What kind of numbnuts relies on AI, especially Musk AI, for election information?

    Or any information for that matter? You might as ask a random homeless person.

    1. Joe W Silver badge
      Windows

      Re: What kind of numbnuts relies on AI, especially Musk AI, for election information?

      There are too many people not reading real newspapers (not the shite you get in places that are advertorials and plain ads almost completely (ok, even Bergens Tidende, which is not a bad paper[*], is crammed full of ads in the print version...) ) - and those get their "news" from social media. I even have colleagues, all pretty bright young people (ok, younger than I am), who get their news exclusively from social media... this leads to some really awkward conversations, let me tell you.

      ----> icon I do feel old...

      [*] at least it has a substantial amount of article written in nynorsk :p

      1. Julian Poyntz

        Re: What kind of numbnuts relies on AI, especially Musk AI, for election information?

        Not just youngsters

        Asked SWMBO if anything has happened overnight (she was on her phone in FB)

        Nope, nothing was the response.

        I look and the first thing I saw was the assignation attempt on Trump

        1. LogicGate Silver badge

          Re: What kind of numbnuts relies on AI, especially Musk AI, for election information?

          What did they try to assign Trump to?

          A course in basic home economics?

          1. Winkypop Silver badge

            Re: What kind of numbnuts relies on AI, especially Musk AI, for election information?

            Personally, I’d assign him to history.

            Like the Black Death and other major disasters.

          2. Irongut Silver badge

            Re: What kind of numbnuts relies on AI, especially Musk AI, for election information?

            Basic literacy and arithmetic.

        2. collinsl Silver badge

          Re: What kind of numbnuts relies on AI, especially Musk AI, for election information?

          > I look and the first thing I saw was the assignation attempt on Trump

          Which porn star was it this time? Doubt any of them would volunteer for an assignation

      2. Casca Silver badge

        Re: What kind of numbnuts relies on AI, especially Musk AI, for election information?

        Lots of AC and an select group on this forum seems to be the same.

      3. LogicGate Silver badge

        Re: What kind of numbnuts relies on AI, especially Musk AI, for election information?

        Keep in mind that there are enough people that read "real" newspapers without realizing that they are reading the "wrong " newspaper i.e tabloids.

        In Norway this may be VG, whereas the German master of the art is the "Bild" (full translation Die Bildzeitung / The Picture Newspaper), which the German Band "Die Ärzte" wonderfully described as "angst, Hass, Tieten und der Wetterbericht" / Fear, Hate, Tits and the Weather-forecast.

        The sad bit is where "serious" foreign media report about articles in such tabloids without adding a description of the journalistic integrity of the original publisher.

        It must be noted, that these tabloids were bad a long time before the internet.

        Edit capitalization of one T

  6. Mitoo Bobsworth

    Garbage in, garbage out

    Just via a diminished iteration of convergence theory, really. Not sure this move will influence the decisions of the stupid.

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