X’s AI chatbot spread election misinformation, US officials say
ByAFP
August 6, 2024
The Elon Musk-owned X, formerly Twitter, is seen as a hotbed of misinformation in a major election year. - Copyright GETTY IMAGES/AFP Apu Gomes
Anuj CHOPRA
Five US states sent an open letter Monday to Elon Musk, urging him to fix his social media platform X’s AI chatbot after it shared misinformation about the upcoming presidential election.
The letter comes as researchers express concern that the influential site, formerly named Twitter, is a hotbed of political misinformation, while Musk — who has endorsed Donald Trump — appears to be swaying voters ahead of the November election by spreading falsehoods on his personal account, which has nearly 193 million followers.
Hours after President Joe Biden stepped down from the presidential race last month and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee, the chatbot called Grok churned out false information about ballot deadlines, which was amplified by other platforms.
“We are calling on you to immediately implement changes to… Grok to ensure voters have accurate information in this critical election year,” the letter said.
The letter was signed by the secretaries of state of Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Washington, and New Mexico. In some American states these officials are responsible for overseeing elections.
The chatbot wrongly told users that the ballot deadline had passed for nine states. The message effectively implied that Harris was not eligible to replace Biden on the ballot.
“This is false. In all nine states the opposite is true,” the letter said.
“The ballots are not closed, and upcoming ballot deadlines would allow for changes to candidates listed on the ballot for the offices of president and vice president of the United States.”
X did not respond to AFP’s request for comment.
The letter added that Grok continued to repeat this false information –- which was amplified by multiple posts, reaching millions of people — for more than a week until it was corrected on July 31.
“As tens of millions of voters in the US seek basic information about voting in this major election year, X has the responsibility to ensure all voters using your platform have access to guidance that reflects true and accurate information about their constitutional right to vote,” the letter said.
In what is widely billed as America’s first AI election in November, researchers warn that AI-enabled misinformation could be used to manipulate voters, stoking tensions in an already hyperpolarized environment.
Last week, Musk faced a firehose of criticism for sharing with his followers an AI deepfake video featuring Harris.
In it, a voiceover mimicking Harris calls Biden senile before declaring that she does not “know the first thing about running the country.”
The video, viewed by millions, carried no indication that it was parody — save for a laughing emoji. Only later did Musk clarify that the video was meant as satire.
Researchers voiced concern that viewers could have falsely concluded that Harris was deriding herself and sullying Biden.
X, which researchers say has scaled back content moderation efforts and reinstated once-banned accounts of known misinformation spreaders, has also faced criticism for stoking tensions during recent far-right riots across England.
On Sunday, Musk triggered fresh criticism for posting that “civil war is inevitable” in response to another user blaming the riots on “the effects of mass migration and open borders”.
ByAFP
August 6, 2024
The Elon Musk-owned X, formerly Twitter, is seen as a hotbed of misinformation in a major election year. - Copyright GETTY IMAGES/AFP Apu Gomes
Anuj CHOPRA
Five US states sent an open letter Monday to Elon Musk, urging him to fix his social media platform X’s AI chatbot after it shared misinformation about the upcoming presidential election.
The letter comes as researchers express concern that the influential site, formerly named Twitter, is a hotbed of political misinformation, while Musk — who has endorsed Donald Trump — appears to be swaying voters ahead of the November election by spreading falsehoods on his personal account, which has nearly 193 million followers.
Hours after President Joe Biden stepped down from the presidential race last month and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee, the chatbot called Grok churned out false information about ballot deadlines, which was amplified by other platforms.
“We are calling on you to immediately implement changes to… Grok to ensure voters have accurate information in this critical election year,” the letter said.
The letter was signed by the secretaries of state of Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Washington, and New Mexico. In some American states these officials are responsible for overseeing elections.
The chatbot wrongly told users that the ballot deadline had passed for nine states. The message effectively implied that Harris was not eligible to replace Biden on the ballot.
“This is false. In all nine states the opposite is true,” the letter said.
“The ballots are not closed, and upcoming ballot deadlines would allow for changes to candidates listed on the ballot for the offices of president and vice president of the United States.”
X did not respond to AFP’s request for comment.
The letter added that Grok continued to repeat this false information –- which was amplified by multiple posts, reaching millions of people — for more than a week until it was corrected on July 31.
“As tens of millions of voters in the US seek basic information about voting in this major election year, X has the responsibility to ensure all voters using your platform have access to guidance that reflects true and accurate information about their constitutional right to vote,” the letter said.
In what is widely billed as America’s first AI election in November, researchers warn that AI-enabled misinformation could be used to manipulate voters, stoking tensions in an already hyperpolarized environment.
Last week, Musk faced a firehose of criticism for sharing with his followers an AI deepfake video featuring Harris.
In it, a voiceover mimicking Harris calls Biden senile before declaring that she does not “know the first thing about running the country.”
The video, viewed by millions, carried no indication that it was parody — save for a laughing emoji. Only later did Musk clarify that the video was meant as satire.
Researchers voiced concern that viewers could have falsely concluded that Harris was deriding herself and sullying Biden.
X, which researchers say has scaled back content moderation efforts and reinstated once-banned accounts of known misinformation spreaders, has also faced criticism for stoking tensions during recent far-right riots across England.
On Sunday, Musk triggered fresh criticism for posting that “civil war is inevitable” in response to another user blaming the riots on “the effects of mass migration and open borders”.
By AFP
August 6, 2024
Elon Musk bought Twitter, now known as X for $44 billion
- Copyright AFP Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV
Elon Musk’s X sued an advertising group and several large corporations on Tuesday accusing them of causing billions of dollars of losses by “illegally” boycotting the social media platform.
“We tried peace for 2 years, now it is war,” the billionaire founder of Tesla and SpaceX said on X, which he acquired in late 2022.
The antitrust suit, filed in a federal court in Texas, targets the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA), Uniliver, Mars, CVS Health and Orsted, a Danish energy company.
It accuses WFA, through an initiative known as the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM), of conspiring with the companies and others to “collectively withhold billions of dollars in advertising revenue” from X, formerly Twitter.
A number of advertisers left Twitter following Musk’s takeover amid concerns about the level of content moderation under the new ownership and Musk’s own controversial musings on the site.
X CEO Linda Yaccarino, in a video posted on the platform on Tuesday, said X was the victim of a “systematic illegal boycott.”
“They conspired to boycott X which threatens our ability to thrive in the future,” Yaccarino said. “No small group of people should be able to monopolize what gets monetized.”
X is seeking a jury trial and unspecified damages.
Elon Musk’s X sued an advertising group and several large corporations on Tuesday accusing them of causing billions of dollars of losses by “illegally” boycotting the social media platform.
“We tried peace for 2 years, now it is war,” the billionaire founder of Tesla and SpaceX said on X, which he acquired in late 2022.
The antitrust suit, filed in a federal court in Texas, targets the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA), Uniliver, Mars, CVS Health and Orsted, a Danish energy company.
It accuses WFA, through an initiative known as the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM), of conspiring with the companies and others to “collectively withhold billions of dollars in advertising revenue” from X, formerly Twitter.
A number of advertisers left Twitter following Musk’s takeover amid concerns about the level of content moderation under the new ownership and Musk’s own controversial musings on the site.
X CEO Linda Yaccarino, in a video posted on the platform on Tuesday, said X was the victim of a “systematic illegal boycott.”
“They conspired to boycott X which threatens our ability to thrive in the future,” Yaccarino said. “No small group of people should be able to monopolize what gets monetized.”
X is seeking a jury trial and unspecified damages.
Elon Musk’s X filed an antitrust lawsuit against an advertising group accusing it of engaging in an ‘illegal boycott’ – Copyright GETTY IMAGES/AFP Apu Gomes
The lawsuit was filed one day after Musk filed suit in California against OpenAI, accusing its co-founders Sam Altman and Greg Brockman of betraying the artificial intelligence company’s founding mission.
Musk invested in the San Francisco-based OpenAI in 2015 but left three years later.
He is accusing OpenAI, Altman and Brockman of fraud, conspiracy and false advertising.
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