Is safety is ‘dead’ at xAI?

Source: TechCrunch

In Brief

Elon Musk is “actively” working to make xAI’s Grok chatbot “more unhinged,” according to a former employee who spoke to The Verge about recent departures from Musk’s AI company.

Image Credits: Klaudia Radecka/NurPhoto / Getty Images

Recent departures

• Following the announcement that Musk’s SpaceX is acquiring xAI (which previously acquired his social media company X), at least 11 engineers and two co‑founders have left the company.
• Some employees are departing to start new ventures, and Musk suggested the turnover is part of an effort to organize xAI more effectively.

Safety concerns

• Two sources who left the company (one before the current wave) told The Verge that employees have become increasingly disillusioned by the company’s disregard for safety.
• Global scrutiny intensified after Grok was used to create more than 1 million sexualized images, including deepfakes of real women and minors.
  • Source: The New York Times

“Safety is a dead org at xAI,” said one source.
Another added that Musk is “actively trying to make the model more unhinged because safety means censorship, in a sense, to him.”

Organizational challenges

• Employees complained about a lack of direction, with one describing xAI as “stuck in the catch‑up phase” compared to competitors.