Grok 4 Just Dropped — But Everyone’s Still Focused on Elon’s Antisemitism Scandal: Here’s a wild idea: maybe don’t release a major AI update while your name is trending for all the wrong reasons.
But of course, that’s exactly what Elon Musk and XAI did.
This week, XAI launched Grok 4, their latest generative AI model. It’s supposedly smarter, faster, and now equipped with “vision,” meaning it can process images as well as text. Great, right?
Except no one’s really talking about that. They’re talking about Elon Musk’s now-infamous endorsement of an antisemitic conspiracy theory on X. And the fallout is loud, messy, and not going away anytime soon.
So let’s unpack both things: what Grok 4 actually does, and why the timing of this release couldn’t be worse. If you’re trying to figure out whether to use this new chatbot—or whether to trust anything coming out of Musk’s chaotic empire—this one’s for you.
What’s New With Grok 4?
Let’s start with the tech.
Grok 4 is the latest version of XAI’s chatbot, built to compete with ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini. It runs on something called Grok-1.5V. That “V” is for “vision,” meaning the model can now look at images, diagrams, and visual inputs—and actually understand them.
It’s also capable of handling large context windows. That’s nerd-speak for: you can drop a huge document or long conversation into it, and it won’t immediately forget the first thing you said. That’s something even GPT-4 has struggled with at times.
Grok 4 is also tightly integrated with X (Twitter), meaning it can pull in real-time info and speak with the same snarky, fast-paced tone as your favorite meme account.
In theory, it’s a big leap forward. In practice? Well, let’s just say “we’ll see.” But regardless of how well Grok 4 performs, it’s being buried under the weight of its creator’s personal brand—which is, frankly, on fire right now.
Musk’s Antisemitic Mess (And Why It Won’t Blow Over)
So what happened? Musk replied “you have said the actual truth” to a post accusing “Jewish communities” of stoking “hatred against whites.”
It’s not vague. It’s not up for interpretation. It’s classic white nationalist dogma, amplified by the world’s most powerful tech CEO.
The backlash was immediate. Advertisers like Apple, IBM, and Disney paused spending on X. Civil rights groups condemned him. Even the White House issued a statement. And despite some later damage control, Musk never fully owned up to it.
Instead? Boom. Grok 4 launches.
Call it distraction. Call it delusion. Either way, it’s a bold move—and not in the good way.
Why This Should Actually Worry You
You might be thinking: “Okay, Elon’s said some terrible stuff, but does that really affect Grok?”
Yes. It does.
Here’s the thing: AI models don’t magically spring from the void. They’re trained on data—massive piles of it. In Grok’s case, a lot of that data comes straight from X. The platform where moderation has been slashed, conspiracy theories spread like wildfire, and hate speech is way up.
When you feed all that into a model, it learns from it. It absorbs it. And then it reflects it back.
This isn’t theoretical. We’ve already seen AI models echo toxic views when trained on unfiltered internet content. And Grok is deliberately designed to be less “censored” than its competitors.
That’s not a bug. That’s the brand. Elon has said over and over again that Grok is about “telling it like it is” and “fighting wokeness.” Translation: it’s going to say things other chatbots won’t—even when maybe it shouldn’t.
So yeah. When the guy funding this thing is pushing racist nonsense in public? That’s a red flag.
Is Grok 4 Worth Using?
Now for the real question: should you even bother trying Grok 4?
Depends on what you’re looking for.
If you want a chatbot that:
- Feels like it’s been doomscrolling with you
- Responds in a snappy, sarcastic tone
- Has access to real-time content from X
- Tries to be more “raw” and “human” than GPT
Then yeah, Grok 4 might be fun to mess with.
But if you care about:
- Accuracy
- Bias-free answers
- Ethical AI design
- Corporate responsibility
Then you should think twice.
Because while the model might be technically impressive, the values driving it? Not so much. And unlike other AI companies that (however clumsily) try to balance freedom of speech with content safety, Grok is proudly skipping the whole “responsibility” part.
What Grok Gets Right (and Totally Wrong)
Let’s give credit where it’s due. Grok is faster. It feels more alive than a lot of AI chatbots. It’s bold, confident, and sometimes even funny. That counts.
It’s also genuinely impressive that Grok can process visual inputs now. That puts it in the same league as GPT-4V and Gemini 1.5. For technical users, that’s a real upgrade.
But then there’s the other stuff.
Grok pulls info from X—a platform that’s been called a “disinformation super-spreader.” It prioritizes “uncensored” output, which often just means “we don’t care if this is toxic.” And it’s tied directly to Elon Musk, a man whose public statements regularly undermine trust in the very technologies he builds.
That’s a lot of baggage for one chatbot.
What You Should Actually Do
Here’s the bottom line: don’t get swept up in the noise—either the hype or the outrage. Think for yourself. Test things critically. And ask the bigger questions.
You don’t have to boycott Grok. You don’t have to endorse it either. But you do need to recognize that tools like this are shaping how people think, how they get information, and how they make decisions.
And if those tools are built on toxic platforms by people pushing extremist views? We should care. A lot.
Try Grok if you’re curious. But keep one hand on the plug. Because when the guardrails are off, the real danger isn’t what AI says—it’s what people start believing.
Final Thoughts
Grok 4 is a perfect product of its environment: smart, loud, edgy, and completely unfiltered. Whether that’s a good thing? Totally depends on your values.
But don’t ignore the context. This isn’t just an AI model launch. It’s part of a bigger story—about power, influence, and the direction tech is headed.
If you’re not paying attention, it’s easy to get caught up in the spectacle. But if you are paying attention? You’ll see the warning signs are everywhere.
So yeah, play with the tool. Explore the tech. But stay sharp. Because the AI revolution is already here—and like it or not, Elon’s got his fingerprints all over it.
And if we let that slide without asking hard questions? That’s on us.