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Why Elon Musk's Grok chatbot sounds an awful lot like Musk himself

Elon Musk listens as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a House Republicans Conference meeting at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill on Nov. 13, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Allison Robbert-Pool/Getty Images)
/ Allison Robbert-Pool/Getty Images
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Allison Robbert-Pool/Getty Images
Elon Musk listens as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a House Republicans Conference meeting at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill on Nov. 13, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Allison Robbert-Pool/Getty Images)

Over recent months, X subscribers who use Elon Musk’s Grok chatbot may have noticed a shift in the artificial intelligence bot’s answers.

After a user who asked the bot to name the greatest threat to Western civilization received the response, “misinformation and disinformation,” Musk expressed displeasure. He said he would “fix that by morning.” The bot’s new answer to the same question changed to “low fertility rates,” in line with his position as part of the pro-birther movement.

A New York Times study examining thousands of answers tracks the shift in Grok’s answers in a story titled “How Elon Musk is Remaking Grok in His Image.” Times tech reporter Kate Conger joins Here & Now to talk about the changes and why they matter.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2025 WBUR

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