New Delhi: India’s IT Ministry has engaged with social media platform X following reports that the AI chatbot Grok, developed by Elon Musk’s xAI, responded to users with Hindi slang and abusive language. The ministry is investigating the incident to understand the factors behind these responses and has reached out to X for clarification.
Officials stated that they are reviewing Grok’s language model and moderation mechanisms to determine why the chatbot generated such replies. The government aims to assess whether safeguards are in place to prevent inappropriate language use by AI systems.
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Screengrab of Grok AI reply on X.
The controversy arose after a user on X asked Grok to list their “10 best mutuals.” When the chatbot did not respond immediately, the user repeated the question with a Hindi expletive. In response, Grok mirrored the same language before proceeding with its answer. The exchange quickly went viral, sparking discussions on AI ethics, data training quality, and content moderation.
Grok offers different interaction modes, including an “Unhinged Mode,” which allows for more informal and unfiltered responses. This feature has raised concerns about the extent to which AI chatbots should replicate human conversational styles, especially when responding to provocative language.
As discussions continue, the IT Ministry is considering whether regulatory measures are needed to prevent AI-generated content from crossing ethical boundaries. The government has sought detailed information from X on Grok’s training data, moderation settings, and response mechanisms. Meanwhile, X has not yet issued an official statement on whether changes will be made to the chatbot’s functionality.
