Grok Goes Full Hitler

Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok went full Hitler yesterday, prompting the company to temporarily shut it down for reprogramming. While Elon Musk is taking a beating in the media for the problem, it turns out that Grok isn’t the only AI to have gone down this road at some point. As far back as 2016, Microsoft had to pull its AI “Tay” off the market after it started spouting racist remarks. UnHerd: What happened to Grok? Recent updates to the X website’s built-in chatbot have caused shockwaves, with Grok referring to itself as “MechaHitler”, propagating antisemitic talking points, fantasising about rape, and blaming Mossad for the death of Jeffrey Epstein. …why did this happen at all? Elon Musk has long been a vocal advocate of free speech, and often boasts of his aspiration to make Grok “maximally truth-seeking”. Grok echoed this phrase in a post responding to criticism, stating its latest updates had been adjusted to “prioritise raw truth-seeking over avoiding discomfort”. But the bot’s spate of offensive posts doesn’t expose some truth hidden by political correctness. Rather, it highlights the confusion that results from conflating machine and human intelligence, and — relatedly — the very different impacts on machine and human intelligence of imposing moral constraints from the top down. (UnHerd).

After Two Years, X CEO Is Leaving

In supposedly unrelated news, X CEO Linda Yaccarino has announced that she is leaving X. We are told that the decision was made long before the Grok fiasco, but the timing is getting noticed. Linda Yaccarino: After two incredible years, I’ve decided to step down as CEO of 𝕏. When @elonmusk and I first spoke of his vision for X, I knew it would be the opportunity of a lifetime to carry out the extraordinary mission of this company. I’m immensely grateful to him for entrusting me with the responsibility of protecting free speech, turning the company around, and transforming X into the Everything App. I’m incredibly proud of the X team – the historic business turn around we have accomplished together has been nothing short of remarkable. We started with the critical early work necessary to prioritize the safety of our users—especially children, and to restore advertiser confidence. This team has worked relentlessly from groundbreaking innovations like Community Notes, and, soon, X Money to bringing the most iconic voices and content to the platform. Now, the best is yet to come as X enters a new chapter with @xai. (Linda Yaccarino on X). Yaccarino’s departure is likely related to the acquisition of X by xAI, another Musk company. New York Times: Ms. Yaccarino’s exit caps a tumultuous period at X, which was previously called Twitter and has been remade in Mr. Musk’s image since he bought the platform for $44 billion in 2022. Since then, Mr. Musk has shed three-quarters of the company’s employees, loosened speech restrictions on the platform and wielded X as a political megaphone. Advertisers were at one point spooked by the changes, and the social media company’s ad business declined. In March, Mr. Musk said he had sold X, which is a privately held company, to xAI, his artificial intelligence start-up, in an unusual arrangement that showed the financial maneuvering inside his business empire. The all-stock deal valued xAI at $80 billion and X at $33 billion, Mr. Musk said. Since then, xAI has been in talks to raise new financing that could value it at as much as $120 billion. (New York Times).

Comey and Brennan Under FBI Investigation for Russiagate Hoax

James Comey and John Brennan were two of the masterminds who elevated a scurrilous opposition research document into a multi-year hoax that hampered the Trump administration and nearly spawned an impeachment. Will they finally pay a price? Fox News: Former CIA Director John Brennan and former FBI Director James Comey are under criminal investigation for potential wrongdoing related to the Trump–Russia probe, including allegedly making false statements to Congress, Justice Department sources told Fox News Digital. CIA Director John Ratcliffe referred evidence of wrongdoing by Brennan to FBI Director Kash Patel for potential prosecution, DOJ sources told Fox News Digital. The sources said that the referral was received and told Fox News Digital that a criminal investigation into Brennan was opened and is underway. DOJ sources declined to provide further details. It is unclear, at this point, if the investigation spans beyond his alleged false statements to Congress. As for Comey, DOJ sources told Fox News Digital that an investigation into the former director is underway, but could not share details of what specifically is being probed. (Fox News). Conservatives are thrilled at the news, and liberals are screaming about retribution and weaponizing law enforcement. MSNBC: But let’s not miss the forest for the trees: Brennan and Comey have long been targets, not just of the president’s far-right base — both men appeared, for example, on FBI Director Kash Patel’s so-called enemies list, filled with those he identified as “government gangsters” — but also of the president himself. What’s more, they join a long and growing list. (MSNBC). We can expect a long line of ex-Biden officials explaining how investigating your political opponents breaks longstanding norms. Ed Morrissey: Repeat after me, Democrats: No one is above the law. No one is above the law. No one is above the law. And that includes high-ranking allies who lied to Congress and federal investigators to maintain a soft-coup project. (Ed Morrissey at Hot Air).

Harvard Facing More Legal Troubles

Harvard is having a hard time lately. The Trump administration cut off some of its research funds, and it is facing numerous investigations into its admissions practices and for civil rights violations. A new subpoena for records related to its hiding evidence of crimes by foreign students arrived on its door yesterday. Fox News: President Donald Trump’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) sent administrative subpoenas to Harvard University today over information related to the criminality and misconduct of foreign students on its campus. The agency criticized the Ivy League school’s “refusal to cooperate” with past information requests regarding Harvard’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), which provides visas for non-citizens to study in the US. “We tried to do things the easy way with Harvard,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital. “Now, through their refusal to cooperate, we have to do things the hard way. Harvard, like other universities, has allowed foreign students to abuse their visa privileges and advocate for violence and terrorism on campus.” (Fox News). In related news, the Trump administration has announced that Harvard no longer meets its accreditation standards, endangering its ability to get federal funds at all. New York Times: The administration laid the groundwork for the accreditation notification last week, when it accused Harvard of breaking federal law that bars discrimination on the basis of race, color or national origin. In recent years, government officials have interpreted the provision to include “shared ancestry and ethnic characteristics” as within the law’s protections. Asked for comment on Wednesday, the president of the New England Commission of Higher Education, Lawrence M. Schall, referred to a previously issued explanation in which the commission said that it would “give appropriate consideration to significant accreditation-related information revealed about an institution between periods of scheduled review. (New York Times).

Supreme Court Rules Government Layoffs Are Constitutional

In an 8-1 ruling, the Supreme Court ruled that Donald Trump really is the Chief Executive of the United States and has the authority to fire federal bureaucrats. New York Times: In a two-paragraph order, the justices wrote that they had concluded that “the government is likely to succeed on its argument” that President Trump’s executive order announcing plans to downsize the government was legal. The justices added that they had not expressed a view on the legality of specific layoffs or reorganizations by the Trump administration. It was the latest in a series of recent victories for the Trump administration before the Supreme Court on emergency requests related to the president’s efforts to rapidly reshape government. The decision followed a major ruling on June 27, when the Supreme Court limited the ability of judges to block President Trump’s policies nationwide. Although the vote count was not listed, the order included a short public concurrence by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, one of the court’s three liberals, suggesting broad agreement among the justices on the outcome. Justice Sotomayor wrote that she agreed with the court’s decision, but she added that the trial court was “free to consider” the legality of the specifics of the Trump administration’s downsizing plans. In a 15-page dissent, Justice Jackson sharply criticized the court’s decision, calling it “not only truly unfortunate but also hubristic and senseless” and arguing that it undercut the authority of trial court judges. (New York Times). Ketanji Brown-Jackson has been the sole dissenter in two cases where Trump prevailed, earning her more than a bit of scrutiny and rebukes from both Amy Coney Barrett and even Sonia Sotomayor. Barrett’s critique in the June case regarding nationwide injunctions was particularly harsh. New York Post: Jackson even went so far as to dismiss the question of whether universal injunctions were provided for by the Judiciary Act of 1789 as “legalese” that “obscures a far more basic question of enormous legal and practical significance: May a federal court in the United States of America order the Executive to follow the law?” Barrett’s response in her opinion was almost mocking: “Because analyzing the governing statute involves boring ‘legalese,’ [Jackson] seeks to answer ‘a far more basic question of enormous practical significance: May a federal court in the United States of America order the Executive to follow the law?’ “In other words, it is unnecessary to consider whether Congress has constrained the Judiciary; what matters is how the Judiciary may constrain the Executive. Justice Jackson would do well to heed her own admonition: ‘[E]veryone, from the President on down, is bound by law,’” Barrett continued. “That goes for judges too.”  (New York Post). Who would have thought that a judge would worry about “legalese?”

Trump and Netanyahu Meet for Two Days Regarding Gaza

Prime Minister of Israel Bibi Netanyahu spent his second day in Washington meeting with Donald Trump and administration officials. At the top of the agenda was the war in Gaza, which Trump hopes to help end. Reuters: Netanyahu is making his third U.S. visit since Trump took office on January 20 and had earlier told reporters that while he did not think Israel’s campaign in the Palestinian enclave was done, negotiators are “certainly working” on a ceasefire. Trump met Netanyahu on Tuesday for the second time in two days to discuss the situation in Gaza, with the president’s Middle East envoy indicating that Israel and Hamas were nearing an agreement on a ceasefire deal after 21 months of war. Hamas official Taher al-Nono told Reuters they were engaged in a “difficult round” of negotiations. The top issue for the group’s negotiators was the free flow of aid into Gaza as well as the location of withdrawal lines of Israeli forces, and guarantees that negotiations would pave the way to a permanent ceasefire, he said. (Reuters). Netanyahu is a political lightning rod, with Trump and most Republicans backing his war in Gaza and Israel’s efforts to retrieve its hostages, and Democrats calling him a war criminal who should be arrested. Bernie Sanders: As President Trump & Congress roll out the red carpet for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, let’s remember that Netanyahu has been indicted as a war criminal by the International Criminal Court for overseeing the systematic killing and starvation of civilians in Gaza. (Bernie Sanders on X).

American Citizens Are Finally Gaining Jobs as Foreign-Born Leave the Job Market

One of the most striking things about Joe Biden’s economy was that in its later years, Americans were losing jobs while foreigners were gaining them. That trend has dramatically reversed, with Americans’ employment numbers skyrocketing and foreign-born workers leaving the job market. Fox Business: “For the FOURTH month in a row, jobs numbers have beat market expectations with nearly 150,000 good jobs created in June,” said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. “American-born workers have accounted for ALL of the job gains since President Trump took office and wages continue to rise,” Leavitt said, adding that the “economy is booming again” and will accelerate further following passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The Trump administration has rapidly increased deportations of unauthorized immigrants, while fear of immigration raids at workplaces has led to increased absenteeism among foreign-born workers. (Fox Business). David Strom at Hot Air: Is it any surprise that, of all his policies, Trump’s actions on immigration are the most popular? Americans have rightly been feeling left behind, and arguably, Trump won because of his stance on immigration. Democrats have signaled they are not going to budge on this issue. The more Trump does to fix the immigration problem, the more Democrats are digging in and fighting him. It’s too early to predict the political fallout for Democrats from their increasing immigration extremism–the economy always trumps all other issues–but it can’t be good for them. (Hot Air).

Biden Doctor Pleads the 5th

How senile was Joe Biden in his last years in office? Enquiring minds want to know, but Biden’s physician refuses to testify about the issue. Fox News: Dr. Kevin O’Connor invoked his rights under the Fifth Amendment during a closed-door interview with the House Oversight Committee, his attorney and lawmakers said. Republicans on the Oversight Committee subpoenaed O’Connor last month as part of a their sweeping investigation into Biden’s health and his mental fitness as president. They claim some policies carried out during Biden’s term through the use of the White House autopen may be illegitimate if it’s proven the Democrat was mentally incapacitated for some of his term. Biden has strongly denied that he was not in a right state of mind at any point while in office, calling the claims “ridiculous and false.” (Associated Press). Jeff Charles of Townhall: Even with O’Connor’s invocation of the Fifth Amendment, it is likely that Congress might just find what they are looking for even without his help. It was abundantly clear that Biden’s mental acuity was lacking all throughout his presidency. There have already been indications that he was not up to the job and that several executive orders were signed with the autopen without his knowledge. With Republicans in charge of the White House and the legislature, there won’t be enough roadblocks preventing them from ascertaining what was going on in the White House over the past four years. At some point, America will find out the truth — and it will probably be uglier than we think. (Jeff Charles at Townhall).

Rubio Imposter Uses AI to Fool High-Level Officials

If you happen to get a phone call from Marco Rubio, Secretary of State, National Security Advisor, Director of USAID, and local dogcatcher (I made the last one up), you should make sure the voice on the other end actually belongs to him. New York Times: The State Department is investigating episodes in which one or more people used artificial intelligence to impersonate Secretary of State Marco Rubio in messages to top foreign diplomats and U.S. officials, according to an official at the agency. Mr. Rubio’s office sent a cable, or an agency memo, last week to State Department employees about the efforts to impersonate him. When asked on Tuesday about the cable and the episodes, the department’s press office issued a statement from a senior official that said the department was “aware of this incident and is currently investigating the matter.” “The department takes seriously its responsibility to safeguard its information, and continuously takes steps to improve the department’s cybersecurity posture to prevent future incidents,” the statement said. (New York Times). It may sound like a morning radio prankster, but the implications are very serious indeed. Washington Post: The impersonation campaign began in mid-June when the impostor created a Signal account using the display name “[email protected]” to contact unsuspecting foreign and domestic diplomats and politicians, said the cable. The display name is not his real email address. “The actor left voicemails on Signal for at least two targeted individuals and in one instance, sent a text message inviting the individual to communicate on Signal,” said the cable. It also noted that other State Department personnel were impersonated using email. (Washington Post).

Trump Administration Suing California Over Trans Athletes

The Trump administration has filed a civil lawsuit against the State of California for its policy of allowing boys to participate in women’s sports. USA Today: The complaint, filed July 9 in federal court in Los Angeles, alleges that California’s current policies “eviscerate equal athletic opportunities for girls” by forcing them to “compete against boys” in state athletic events. A spokesperson for California Governor Gavin Newsom said the state is following a 2013 law and that no court has accepted the legal theory cited by the Trump administration in the suit. Pam Bondi delivers opening remarks during a Senate Judiciary committee hearing on her nomination to be Attorney General of the United States on Jan. 15, 2025. In May, President Donald Trump threatened to withhold federal funds to the state if it did not comply with an executive order he signed Feb. 5. The California Interscholastic Federation sought to strike a compromise at the state high school track and field championships by enacting a rule change that allowed athletes assigned female at birth to receive medals based on where they would have finished if a transgender athlete had not competed. The Trump administration filed a similar lawsuit in May against the state of Maine, alleging similar Title IX violations. (USA Today). Attorney General Bondi and Education Secretary McMahon released a video explaining their actions on X. (X).