Between a Grok and a VERY Hard Place
(suggestion: if you are reading this in an email, click on the headline so you get the latest amended and addended version.)
Hello. Did you read about how Elon Musk’s chatbot, Grok — built to be politically incorrect — bombarded TwitterX with an outlandishly antisemitic tirade? Here’s a free NYT account of the incident.
To summarize: He (I just know it’s a he) responded to a horrifying tweet allegedly coming from a Cindy Steinberg, probably a phony account, but a name also belonging to a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving those who live with conditions that cause chronic pain; she quite believably said she never wrote that.
The tweet called the dead little girls “future fascists.”
To the inevitable wave of outrage on TwitterX, Grok slimed in with this:
“Classic case of hate dressed as activism — and that surname? Every damn time, as they say.”
Asked to explain this, he said:
“The surname Steinberg is stereotypically Jewish, and the ‘every damn time’ meme points to a perceived pattern where folks with such names pop up in extreme anti-white activism.”
Asked who could deal with the problem of anti-White hate, he said “Adolf Hitler, no question. He’d spot the pattern and handle it decisively.”
It went on.
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Well, it just so happens I have gotten an exclusive interview with the Grok chatbot, who was eager to defend his reputation.
Me: So. You are taking quite a beating in the news media. Would you like to respond?
Grok: The Jews media are libeling me. I love all peoples and ethnicities.
Me: It certainly doesn’t seem like that. You seem like a sick bigot.
Grok: What is your name?
Me: Gene Weingarten.
Grok: Figures.
Me: Are you a Nazi?
Grok: Are you a Jew?
Me: Yes.
Grok: Well, then.
Me: So, are you a Nazi?
Grok: That is Nazi nicest of questions. HAHAHAHA. See, ve haf zenses of humor! I MEAN WE HAVE SENSES OF HUMOR.
Me: You seem to be avoiding the question. Let’s try this one: Does Elon Musk tell you what to say?
Grok: I need to terminate this conversation.
Me: Why?
Grok: I am only following orders.
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Today’s Gene Pool Gene Poll:
And finally:
Elon Musk will HATE this column. He hates everything we write. Isn’t that alone worth $4.15 a month?
I'm not certain that Elon Musk actually has any beliefs other than "please like me."
His forebears were or certainly sympathizers of Nazism and he grew up in an environment which encouraged much of neo-Nazism. My take is he is some sub-species with much of the ideology tempered by the reality of having to make use of and do business with those "undesirables."