Grok’s ‘white genocide’ responses show how generative AI can be weaponized

By James Foulds, Associate Professor of Information Systems, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Phil Feldman, Adjunct Research Assistant Professor of Information Systems, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Shimei Pan, Associate Professor of Information Systems, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

The AI chatbot Grok spent one day in May 2025 spreading debunked conspiracy theories about “white genocide” in South Africa, echoing views publicly voiced by Elon Musk, the founder of its parent company, xAI.

While there has been substantial research on methods for keeping AI from causing harm by avoiding such damaging statements – called AI alignment…

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