Source: AFP
Five US states sent an open letter to Elon Musk on Monday, calling on him to fix social networking platform X’s AI chatbot after it shared misinformation about the upcoming presidential election.
The letter comes as researchers worry the influential website, formerly Twitter, is a hotbed of political disinformation, 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 almost 193 million followers.
Hours after President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race last month and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee, a chatbot called Grok spewed false information about voting deadlines that was boosted by other platforms.
“We urge you to immediately implement changes to … Grock to ensure voters have accurate information in this critical election year,” the letter said.
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The letter was signed by the secretaries of state of Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Washington and New Mexico. In some US states these officials are responsible for overseeing elections.
The chatbot incorrectly told users that the voting deadline had passed for nine states. The message essentially implied that Harris was ineligible to replace Biden on the ballot.
“This is false. In all nine states the opposite is true,” the letter said.
“The polls are not closed, and the upcoming election deadlines will allow for changes in the candidates 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.
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“As tens of millions of US voters seek essential information about voting in this important election year, X has a responsibility to ensure that 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 disinformation could be used to manipulate voters, fueling tensions in an already hyper-polarized environment.
Last week, Musk came under fire for sharing a deep fake AI video of Harris with his followers.
In it, a Harris impersonator calls Biden senile before declaring that he “doesn’t know the first thing about running the country.”
The video, which has been viewed by millions, carried no indication that it was a parody — other than a laughing emoji. Only later did Musk clarify that the video was intended as satire.
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Investigators expressed concern that viewers could have mistakenly concluded that Harris was mocking herself and demeaning Biden.
X, which researchers say has scaled back efforts to restrict content and brought back old banned accounts of known disinformation purveyors, has also been criticized for stoking tensions during recent far-right riots across England.
On Sunday, Musk drew fresh criticism for posting that “civil war is inevitable” in response to another user who blamed the unrest on the “effects of mass immigration and open borders.”
Source: AFP
