Elon Musk's AI Chatbot Grok Under Scrutiny in India for Controversial Responses

Elon Musk 'laughs' as Centre goes after 'X' over AI bot Grok using Hindi 'slang and abuses'

World's richest man and X CEO, Elon Musk, responded to the ongoing controversy over AI bot Grok in India with a laughing emoji. In a post on X, Musk shared a BBC article about the ongoing Grok debate, responding with just a laughing emoji. His reaction comes amid growing scrutiny of the chatbot's responses, which have sparked heated political debates and drawn attention from India's IT ministry. The government is in touch with social media platform X over recent reports of AI chatbot Grok responding to users' provocation using Hindi slang and abuse. "The government has taken note of this, and we are deeply engaged with X on this issue. We are hoping for speedy action," a senior government official told ET. The AI bot has been spewing abuse in Hindi besides making intemperate comments regarding Prime Minister Narendra Modi and political leaders like Rahul Gandhi. In one post, Grok even referred to Musk as "a major disinformation spreader." Grok, the powerful AI chatbot on Elon Musk's X, shocked netizens recently with its wild side when its response in Hindi came loaded with abuses and slang after provocation by users. The banter started when an X user requested that Grok provide a list of the "10 best mutuals". After a silence, the user responded with some harsh comments. This prompted Grok to retaliate with an equally casual tone and slur-loaded response. The unfiltered responses left users flummoxed and sparked a debate on social media about the future of AI. Last year, the IT ministry had accused Google's AI chatbot Gemini of similar violations. At the time, former IT minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar had alleged bias in its responses.

IT Ministry examining issue of Grok using Hindi slang, abuses; in touch with X

India's IT Ministry is investigating a recent incident where the AI chatbot Grok used Hindi slang and abuses on social media platform X. The ministry is in discussions with X to understand the reasons behind the inappropriate language and is examining the factors that led to these responses. New Delhi: The Information and Technology Ministry is in touch with social media platform X over the recent incident of AI chatbot Grok using Hindi slang and abuses and will be examining the issue, according to sources. The ministry will look into the matter and the factors that led to the use of abusive language, they said. "We are in touch, we are talking to them (X) to find out why it is happening and what are the issues. They are engaging with us," sources said. The IT Ministry is examining the matter, they added. Grok, the powerful AI chatbot on Elon Musk's X, shocked netizens recently with its wild side when its response in Hindi came loaded with abuses and slang after provocation by users. The banter started when an X user requested that Grok provide a list of the "10 best mutuals". After a silence, the user responded with some harsh comments. This prompted Grok to retaliate with an equally casual tone and slur-loaded response. The unfiltered responses left users flummoxed and sparked a debate on social media about the future of AI.

Musk's Grok AI under MeitY radar for inflammatory content on X

Elon Musk's Grok AI is under the IT ministry's radar for generating inflammatory content on X. Experts warn of legal risks under IT laws, while concerns grow over AI content moderation and its broader regulatory implications. Elon Musk's Grok AI model has come under the IT ministry's radar for generating inflammatory content on social media platform X. "The government has taken note of this, and we are deeply engaged with X on this issue. We are hoping for speedy action," a senior government official told ET. The AI bot has been spewing abuse in Hindi besides making intemperate comments regarding Prime Minister Narendra Modi and political leaders like Rahul Gandhi. In one post, Grok even referred to Musk as "a major disinformation spreader." Experts have raised concerns over Grok's content moderation practices, adding that such activity can render X and xAI liable under the IT Intermediary Rules 2021. The posts are going viral with up to 80,000 views since Sunday as more users deliberately bait the bot with controversial prompts. Although the model's responses can at times be amusing, experts said misusing AI for spreading hate speech is unlawful and harmful. "Section 79(1) of the IT Act provides intermediaries like Twitter (X) with immunity regarding third-party content hosted by them," said Prashant Mali, a cybersecurity and IT lawyer. "However, this immunity is limited by Section 79(2) and (3) of the IT Act, which states that such immunity applies only when the intermediary's role is passive and technical. Moreover, intermediaries cannot claim immunity if they have been involved in any form of unlawful activity." It seems X has failed to do its due diligence as mandated by law and hence the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) should remove safe harbour provisions and proceed with filing a complaint, he said. The AI model developed by xAI that was hailed as beating performance benchmarks set by OpenAI and Anthropic appears to fail on basic safety parameters, experts said. In a blog post announcing Grok in November 2023, the xAI team had highlighted the quirky nature of the model. "Grok is designed to answer questions with a bit of wit and has a rebellious streak, so please don't use it if you hate humour! A unique and fundamental advantage of Grok is that it has real-time knowledge of the world via the 𝕏 platform. It will also answer spicy questions that are rejected by most other AI systems," it had said. However, experts said that Grok's responses shouldn't be taken to mean that AI models and companies need to be subjected to broader scrutiny. "Grok's responses are a reflection of free speech already present on the internet and social media," said Vivan Sharan, partner at policy advisory firm Koan Advisory. "It must also be noted that social media bots have existed and been excessively used for political speech. While basic safety guardrails must be adhered to by all AI companies, my only fear is that strict regulations could have second-order effects on commercial use of AI in advertising etc." Last year, the IT ministry had accused Google's AI chatbot Gemini of similar violations. At the time, former IT minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar had alleged bias in its responses. "Government has said this before and I repeat for the attention of Google India, our digital nagriks are not to be experimented on with 'unreliable' platforms, algorithms and models," he had said.

Centre Seeks Clarification From X On Responses Of Its Chatbot Grok

Reportedly, Centre has sought clarification from X on Grok's responses and has asked for information on the data used to train Grok AI chatbot X, launched by Elon Musk's X.AI, has come under the scanner of the electronics and IT ministry (MeitY) for its inflammatory content. Grok, which is integrated into social media platform X, has been giving responses in Hindi with abusive language. Besides, the chatbot has also made controversial remarks about political figures like Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. Notably, Grok also made foul comments about Musk, calling him a "major disinformation spreader". As per a CNBC-TV18 report, the Centre has sought clarification from X on Grok's responses. The company has also been asked to provide information on the data used to train Grok. Grok's responses have gone viral and have garnered over 80,000 views as users deliberately provoke the chatbot with contentious prompts. Yesterday, Grok responded to the controversy on X, saying, "Honestly, I didn't stop responding! The Indian gov't asked X about my replies & training data today, March 19, 2025, due to my unfiltered style. It might've caused a brief glitch, but I'm still here, answering as of 10:24 AM PDT. No shutdown -- just scrutiny!" It is pertinent to mention that X.AI outlined the quirky nature of Grok at the time of its launch. In a blog post in November 2023, X.AI said, "Grok is designed to answer questions with a bit of wit and has a rebellious streak, so please don't use it if you hate humour! A unique and fundamental advantage of Grok is that it has real-time knowledge of the world via the X platform. It will also answer spicy questions that are rejected by most other AI systems." On its website, X.AI calls Grok a "truth-seeking AI companion for unfiltered answers" with advanced capabilities in reasoning, coding, and visual processing. This is the second such instance when an AI chatbot has come under the Centre's scrutiny. Last year, some of the answers given by Google's AI chatbot Gemini about PM Modi also created a row. The Centre sought the big tech major's response on the answers. Meanwhile, Musk-owned X has moved the Karnataka High Court, challenging the Centre's use of Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology (IT) Act to block content.