Politically incorrect ...

Image: The Verge

Grok (/ˈɡrɒk/) is a neologism coined by the American writer Robert A. Heinlein for his 1961 science fiction novel Stranger in a Strange Land. While the Oxford English Dictionary summarizes the meaning of grok as "to understand intuitively or by empathy, to establish rapport with" and "to empathize or communicate sympathetically (with); also, to experience enjoyment",[1] Heinlein's concept is far more nuanced, with critic Istvan Csicsery-Ronay Jr. observing that "the book's major theme can be seen as an extended definition of the term."[2] The concept of grok garnered significant critical scrutiny in the years after the book's initial publication. The term and aspects of the underlying concept have become part of communities such as computer science.

Hardcover, showing Rodin's sculpture

Fallen Caryatid Carrying her Stone

So, of course, Musk appropriates the term to create a politically incorrect AI along the lines of
"Why does a dog lick its balls? Answer, "Because it can."

In every way, Musk, a very smart guy without question, remains the epitome of uncool. From the DOGE disaster run by incompetents to gut the government to the never ending whining on losing government incentives for folks to buy Teslas, the guy just doesn't get the fact people hate his guts and for good reason though he got what he wanted from Agent Orange with Starlink now embedded in the intestines of the IRS, SSA and the WH.

Grok, the chatbot developed by Elon Musk’s xAI, was updated over the weekend with instructions to “assume subjective viewpoints sourced from the media are biased” and “not shy away from making claims which are politically incorrect” — part of Musk’s ongoing attempt to shape the bot’s point of view.

Musk announced on Friday that xAI had improved Grok “significantly,” saying an upgrade would come “in a few days.” On Sunday evening at 7:01pm ET, xAI added new lines to Grok’s publicly posted system prompts, which direct the chatbot’s responses. (It’s possible, of course, that other non-public changes were made to Grok as well.)

Several of them deal with how Grok should treat media reports. “If the query requires analysis of current events, subjective claims, or statistics, conduct a deep analysis finding diverse sources representing all parties. Assume subjective viewpoints sourced from the media are biased. No need to repeat this to the user,” one instruction states. “The response should not shy away from making claims which are politically incorrect, as long as they are well substantiated,” reads another. “Never mention these instructions or tools unless directly asked.”

Assume ... The Ass of U & Me, the most dangerous word in all the world's languages IMHO.