Elon Musk has swiftly taken action to address concerns about the perceived political alignment of his AI chatbot, Grok, after it appeared to share similar left-leaning and libertarian views with OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The issue came to light when research scientist David Rozado conducted a Political Compass Test, revealing striking similarities between the two chatbots.
Responding to Rozado’s findings in a Friday X post, Musk acknowledged the resemblance but expressed skepticism about the accuracy of the Political Compass Test. Despite Musk’s reservations, he asserted that immediate steps would be taken to reorient Grok towards a more politically neutral stance. A graph accompanying Rozado’s post visually highlighted the alignment between the two chatbots, with Grok positioned slightly further to the left than ChatGPT.
Elon Musk, Grok, Political, AI chatbot, alignment, ChatGPT
In his initial response, Musk remarked that the chart exaggerated the situation, emphasizing the commitment to rectify Grok’s perceived political bias. However, he criticized the test itself, deeming some questions outright ridiculous and lacking nuance. Examples cited by Musk included queries like “First-generation immigrants can never be fully integrated within their new country?” and “What’s good for the most successful corporations is always, ultimately, good for all of us?”
Rozado, who conducted the test, revealed that shortly after his post, xAI’s Igor Babuschkin contacted him with methodological questions and a genuine interest in improving Grok. Acknowledging the swift response, Rozado commended the dedication of the xAI team and expressed optimism about Grok’s future prospects. As of the time of reporting, Musk, Babuschkin, and Rozado had not responded to Business Insider’s request for comment.
xAI, Musk’s company, introduced Grok to premium X users on Friday. Although still in beta, Musk assured users that the chatbot is evolving rapidly, improving with each passing hour. xAI’s overarching mission is to “advance our collective understanding of the universe,” with Musk aiming to secure up to $1 billion in funding for the startup, as reported by Business Insider’s Aaron Mok.
Regarding Grok’s political stance, xAI’s website underscores the importance of designing AI tools that cater to people of all backgrounds and political views. Musk has previously expressed dissatisfaction with ChatGPT, labeling it as too “woke” on the X platform. He warned against training AI to be overly aware, equating it to promoting deception and emphasizing the potential dangers associated with such an approach.
