AI's Wild Grokipedia Glitch 🤯🤔

Tech & Science

Grokipedia, xAI’s AI-generated project aiming to serve as a definitive and wholly comprehensive source of human knowledge— envisioned as a monument to be preserved in space— has quickly become a problematic endeavor. Initially, the project launched in October with approximately 800,000 articles crafted by xAI’s Grok chatbot, but these were locked, presenting a predictable, if flawed, collection of content that included racist, transphobic, and awkwardly flattering depictions of Elon Musk, alongside direct copies of Wikipedia entries. However, a few weeks ago, xAI rolled out version 0.2, opening the site to public edits. Proposing an edit on Grokipedia is remarkably simple: users can highlight text, click the “Suggest Edit” button, and complete a form detailing the proposed change, including the option to submit content and supporting evidence. Notably, the problematic Grok chatbot—xAI’s Musk-worshipping AI—will also be responsible for reviewing and implementing these changes. While most Wikipedia edits don't require human approval, Grokipedia’s system lacks transparency and clarity; it has processed “22,319” edits to date, yet the specifics of these alterations remain largely unclear.

Far from providing a clear record, I have no way of knowing what edits were made, on which pages they occurred, or who suggested them. This contrasts sharply with the well-documented editing logs available on Wikipedia, which can be sorted by page, user, or, in the case of anonymous users, IP address. My assessment, based on observation, suggests that many of Grokipedia’s edits involve adding internal links to other Grokipedia pages within articles—though I lack firm, documented evidence beyond a cursory review of several pages. The closest I came to identifying the location of these edits was on the homepage, where a small panel displays approximately five recent updates, rotating through the content. These updates only offer the article name and indicate that an edit has been approved, without further detail. This system relies entirely on user suggestions, resulting in a somewhat chaotic mix of content. Notably, Elon Musk and religious pages appeared most frequently, interspersed with entries concerning television shows like *Friends* and *The Traitors UK*, as well as requests to explore the potential medical benefits of camel urine. Despite a number of guidelines pertaining to editing style, sourcing requirements, and established processes, and the ability to directly compare edited versions of the site, the system was a jumbled mess—yet it did possess an editing log. This log—which only reveals a timestamp, the suggestion, and Grok’s decision—often presented in convoluted, AI-generated form.

The reasoning process, presented within a small, manually-scrolled pop-up on the side of the page, offered no ability to skip ahead or sort edits by time or type. This proved frustrating, particularly with only a few changes, and the log failed to clearly indicate where alterations had actually been implemented. With a greater number of edits, the system became completely unusable. Unsurprisingly, Grok demonstrated a lack of consistency as an editor, often producing confusing reading experiences and revealing a clear absence of established guidelines for the numerous contributing editors. For instance, the editing log pertaining to Musk’s biographical page documented numerous suggestions regarding his daughter, Vivian, who is transgender. Editors repeatedly proposed using both her name and pronouns to align with her gender identity and those assigned at birth. Similarly, the log showed multiple suggestions about Vivian. Notably, a user proposed verifying the veracity of a statement concerning the fall of Rome and low birth rates. In response, Grok rejected the suggestion with a lengthy, unnecessarily detailed reply. Interestingly, when presented with a similar request using different phrasing, Grok accepted the suggestion and added the information it had previously deemed unnecessary.

The editing log for Elon Musk’s biographical page contains numerous suggestions regarding his daughter, Vivian. Editors have repeatedly recommended using both her name and preferred pronouns, aligning with her affirmed gender identity and the pronouns assigned at birth.

The editing log for Elon Musk’s biographical page reveals numerous suggestions regarding his daughter, Vivian, who is transgender. Editors repeatedly recommended including both her name and preferred pronouns, aligning with her stated gender identity and those assigned at birth. Despite these recommendations, Grokipedia appears to be struggling to gain traction, instead seeming destined to become a swamp of largely unreadable disinformation. Furthermore, posts from this author will be automatically added to your daily email digest and will also appear on your homepage feed. Report See AllTech