Elon Musk’s Grok AI has come under the scrutiny of India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) over controversial remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi. The AI model, integrated into X (formerly Twitter), has sparked backlash for allegedly making inflammatory comments in Hindi. Concerned over the potential impact, the Indian government has acknowledged the issue and is actively monitoring the situation.
Musk’s Grok AI is currently under scrutiny by India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) for allegedly producing inflammatory content on X (formerly Twitter).
Government sources indicate that officials are in active discussions with X to address these issues. A senior government official stated,
“The government has taken note of this matter, and we are seeking swift action.”
Also Read: “AI For All”: Centre Introducing Legislation To Regulate Artificial Intelligence (AI)
The AI chatbot reportedly made offensive comments in Hindi, including inappropriate remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi and opposition leader Rahul Gandhi.
Furthermore, Grok referred to Musk as “a major disinformation spreader,” which has raised additional concerns regarding its content moderation policies.
Experts are apprehensive that Grok’s outputs could lead to legal repercussions for both X and its parent company, xAI. They caution that such content may violate India’s IT Intermediary Rules, 2021, potentially making the platform legally liable.
The issues surrounding Grok’s content moderation have alarmed cybersecurity specialists. The misuse of AI to disseminate hate speech is deemed both unlawful and harmful. Initially lauded for surpassing benchmarks set by OpenAI and Anthropic, Grok is now criticized for failing to implement basic safety checks.
Also Read: AI or Authentic? LLM Student Battles University Over ‘AI-Generated’ Exam Allegation
Reports indicate that some of Grok’s controversial responses have gone viral, engaging over 80,000 users since last Sunday, with some users reportedly provoking the bot with leading questions to elicit contentious responses.
Cybersecurity lawyer Prashant Mali elaborated on the legal ramifications, stating,
“Section 79(1) of the IT Act grants immunity to intermediaries like X for hosting third-party content. However, this protection is conditional and does not apply when platforms fail to act as neutral entities.”
MeitY is currently evaluating whether X should retain its safe harbor protections. If deemed non-compliant, the government may pursue legal action against the platform.
In a November 2023 blog post, xAI described Grok as an AI designed to provide.
xAI noted,
“Witty and rebellious” responses. The company acknowledged that the model was constructed to answer real-time queries using data from X. “Grok will also respond to spicy questions that other AI systems reject,”
Despite these assertions, experts maintain that AI-generated content must be closely monitored. They emphasize that “AI models and companies must be held accountable for their outputs.”
As concerns about AI safety grow, it remains to be seen how MeitY will address the ongoing controversy involving Musk’s Grok AI.