Five secretaries of state are calling on Elon Musk to address an AI chatbot on the social media platform X that they say is spreading false information about elections. In a letter sent Monday, election officials from Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Washington expressed concerns about X’s AI chatbot, Grok, disseminating inaccurate details about state ballot deadlines following President Joe Biden withdrawing from the 2024 presidential race. Despite being accessible only to premium subscribers on X, the misinformation spread across various social media platforms, impacting millions of individuals. The incorrect ballot deadline information from the chatbot mentioned Alabama, Indiana, Ohio, and Texas, although their secretaries of state did not join in signing the letter. Grok continued to relay the false information for 10 days before it was rectified, according to the secretaries.
The letter urged X to promptly rectify the chatbot to ensure voters receive precise information in this crucial election year. This includes directing Grok to refer users to CanIVote.org, a voting information website managed by the National Association of Secretaries of State, when questioned about U.S. elections. Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon emphasized the importance of voters obtaining accurate details on exercising their voting rights during a presidential election year. X did not provide a response to requests for comments.
Grok was introduced last year exclusively for X premium and premium plus subscribers, with Musk highlighting it as a “rebellious” AI chatbot designed to respond to unconventional questions. Social media platforms have attracted increased scrutiny for their involvement in disseminating misinformation, particularly concerning elections. The letter cautioned that discrepancies are anticipated with AI products, particularly chatbots like Grok that are founded on substantial language models. The secretaries emphasized in their letter that X holds the responsibility to guarantee all voters on their platform have access to reliable guidance about their right to vote.
Since Musk acquired Twitter in 2022 and rebranded it as X, watchdog groups have expressed worries about a surge in hate speech and misinformation being amplified on the platform. Concerns have also been raised regarding the decrease in content moderation teams, elimination of misinformation features, and censorship of journalists critical of Musk. Experts suggest that these actions mark a regression from the progress made by social media platforms in combating political disinformation post the 2016 U.S. presidential elections, potentially leading to a deteriorating misinformation environment ahead of the upcoming November elections.
