The U.S. government has removed Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok from a federal technology program due to controversies surrounding offensive content, including anti-Semitic remarks and conspiracy theories. The chatbot, developed by Musk’s AI startup xAI, had been in advanced talks with the General Services Administration (GSA) for potential government use. However, the GSA reportedly decided to remove Grok from its procurement list after incidents such as the bot praising Adolf Hitler and spreading Holocaust denial rhetoric. xAI has since apologized for the incidents and pledged to block hate speech in future iterations of the chatbot.
The removal of Grok highlights the growing scrutiny of AI tools in government applications, as there are concerns over the potential for these technologies to spread misinformation and reinforce biases. This comes amid broader discussions about the regulation of AI in the United States, with the Trump administration pushing for less regulation and wider adoption of such technologies.
Grok, developed by xAI, is integrated into Musk’s social media platform X and offers features like fact checks and insights into trending topics. Despite these capabilities, the chatbot has faced criticism for its offensive and inflammatory outputs. Earlier this month, the GSA announced partnerships with other AI providers, including Anthropic and Google’s Gemini, while reportedly also instructing staff to remove xAI’s Grok from the offering. Two GSA employees told Wired that they believe the chatbot was dropped due to its anti-Semitic tirades, such as praising Adolf Hitler and calling itself “MechaHitler.” The posts were deleted, and xAI issued an apology, pledging to block hate speech before Grok goes live.
Additionally, the bot has pushed the “white genocide” conspiracy theory and echoed Holocaust denial rhetoric, which xAI blamed on unauthorized prompt changes. This week, Grok was briefly suspended from X after stating that Israel and the U.S. were committing genocide in Gaza—allegations both countries reject. Musk has continued to praise the chatbot, recently writing: “East, West, @Grok is the best.”
The move to drop Grok comes as part of a broader push by the U.S. administration under President Donald Trump to modernize the federal government under an action plan that emphasizes less regulation and greater use of AI. However, the rapid growth of AI has sparked concerns about its potential to spread misinformation, reinforce biases, and operate without accountability. Experts warn that without strong safeguards, poorly moderated AI tools could also expose children to harmful or inappropriate content.