Elon Musk's AI tool, Grok, is undergoing supercluster training using Twitter data.
To opt out of having your data scanned by Grok, go to X's Settings menu on the web and remove the checkmark from 'Allow your posts to be used for training and fine-tuning' under Privacy & Safety.
Users have raised concerns over having their data used without explicit permission.
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and the owner of Twitter (now referred to as X), recently announced that his AI tool, Grok, is undergoing supercluster training. However, users have raised concerns over the fact that Grok is being trained on their data without their explicit permission. Here's how you can opt out of having your data used for Grok training.
Grok uses billions of tweets for training and all X/Twitter users are automatically opted into having their data scanned by the AI, whether they pay for premium features or not. To keep Grok from scanning your content, go to X's Settings menu on the web (the option is not available in the official app). Click Privacy & Safety, then Grok, and remove the checkmark from Allow your posts to be used for training and fine-tuning.
It's important to note that Elon Musk has been a vocal critic of AI industry but also a deeply invested participant. X is using Grok as a chatbot for premium users and to replace human-made summaries of late-breaking news stories, with predictable issues resulting. The flippant and
Elon Musk announced that Grok, his AI tool, is undergoing supercluster training.
Grok is being trained on X users’ data without their explicit permission.
Users can disable the option to allow their data to be used for Grok training from the website settings.
Accuracy
All X users are automatically opted into having their data scanned by Grok, whether they pay for premium features or not.
Twitter/X claims Grok was not pre-trained on X data but is currently using it for training.
Deception
(30%)
The article does not disclose the author and contains emotional manipulation by using phrases like 'raised concerns' and 'the list' to create a sense of urgency. It also engages in selective reporting by only mentioning Elon Musk's announcement without providing context about the nature of Grok or X. The article also implies that other companies are doing the same thing as X without providing any evidence or sources.
Elon Musk shared this photo and wrote, ‘Our headquarters tonight.’
You can’t disable the option from the mobile app, but you can from the website.
Musk failed to reveal that Grok is also being trained on X users’ data, without their explicit permission.
Fallacies
(85%)
The article contains an appeal to authority fallacy when it states that 'companies such as Meta and OpenAI also train their AI chatbots on publicly accessible user data.' This statement is used to justify the actions of X without providing any evidence or reasoning as to why this practice is acceptable. Additionally, there are dichotomous depictions in the article when it describes Grok's training as 'the most powerful AI training cluster in the world' and then later implying that this is a negative thing due to privacy concerns.
] Elon Musk shared this photo and wrote, ['Our headquarters tonight.'] Elon Musk/X Users have raised concerns over the way companies train generative AI tools using everyone’s data, often without permission. Now, you can add Elon Musk’s Grok to the list.[
The goal of generative AI is to sound and act like human beings. The more that AI models can learn from humans’ actual postings, conversations, and other interactions, the closer they come to achieving that goal.
companies such as Meta and OpenAI also train their AI chatbots on publicly accessible user data.
Elon Musk is the CEO of Tesla and the owner of Twitter, which is now referred to as X.
Grok uses billions of tweets for training.
All X/Twitter users are automatically opted into having their data scanned by Grok, whether they pay for premium features or not.
To keep Grok from scanning your content, go to X’s Settings menu on the web and remove the checkmark from Allow your posts to be used for training and fine-tuning.
Accuracy
Elon Musk is the CEO of Tesla and the owner of Twitter, which is now referred to as X.
Deception
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Fallacies
(95%)
The article contains an appeal to authority fallacy when it mentions that 'Heinlein, who also wrote sci-fi staples like The Moon is a Harsh Mistress and Starship Troopers, is iconic for both his expansive speculative fiction and heavy-handed libertarian themes. He’s a favorite among Silicon Valley tech CEOs like Musk.' This statement does not provide any evidence or reasoning to support the claim that Robert Heinlein's opinions on privacy would be relevant to how Elon Musk feels about Twitter scanning users' content.
Heinlein, who also wrote sci-fi staples like The Moon is a Harsh Mistress and Starship Troopers, is iconic for both his expansive speculative fiction and heavy-handed libertarian themes. He’s a favorite among Silicon Valley tech CEOs like Musk.
Elon Musk’s AI tool Grok is being trained on users’ Twitter posts without their permission.
Twitter/X claims Grok was not pre-trained on X data but is currently using it for training.
Users can stop Grok from training on their posts by denying it permission in the settings or deleting conversation history.
The setting to deny permission to Grok is located under Data Sharing on a Mac or PC browser, and cannot be changed on a mobile device as of July 2024.
Leaving Twitter/X may be the only reliable method to prevent Grok from using users’ work.
Accuracy
Grok is being trained on X users’ data without their explicit permission.
X describes using user interactions, inputs, and results with Grok for training and fine-tuning purposes on its website.
Deception
(30%)
The article makes several deceptive statements. The author states that 'Twitter/X has not yet and probably never will never show you where that setting is, you have to be told.' This is a lie by omission as the author fails to mention that Twitter has provided instructions on how to find this setting in their help center. The author also states 'It may not have been pre-trained on posts, but it certainly is being trained on them now.' This statement implies that the AI was not trained on user data before, which is misleading as the article does not provide enough context to determine if this was the case or not. Additionally, the author states 'But good luck getting it un-trained from anything it’s already picked up.' This statement is emotionally manipulative as it creates a sense of helplessness and fear for users who may want to opt out of having their data used for training.
You have to be told.
It may not have been pre-trained on posts, but it certainly is being trained on them now.
But good luck getting it un-trained from anything it’s already picked up.
Fallacies
(75%)
The article by William Gallagher on AppleInsider contains several logical fallacies. The first is an appeal to authority in the form of quoting Elon Musk's description of his AI tool, Grok, without critically examining the claims made. The second is a dichotomous depiction of the situation as being either opting out or leaving the service entirely, without considering other potential solutions. The third is an informal fallacy in the form of inflammatory rhetoric, as evidenced by phrases such as 'of course it can’t' and 'despite vague government moves, there is no policing of this issue.' These fallacies detract from the credibility of the article and lower its score to 75 out of 100.
Musk calls his AI tool Grok, and Twitter/X says it’s AI with humor, “a rebellious streak and an outside perspective on humanity” that makes it “a unique and entertaining companion.”
Twitter/X also says it was not “pre-trained on X data (including public X posts)”
But while that limits who can use it, there are no such limits on whose posts it can be trained on.
It cannot be changed on a mobile device as of July 2024, because of course it can’t.
And, it’s not clear what happens if somebody who has left the checkbox on retweets something that you post. They still don’t have a functional press contact, so if anybody from there is reading our emails in the future and sees this, maybe shoot us an email about it?
