Business
Misinformation was a problem during the Texas floods. AI chatbots weren’t always helping
When deadly flash floods hit central Texas last week, people on social media site X turned to artificial intelligence chatbot Grok for answers about whom to blame.
Grok confidently pointed to President Trump.
“Yes. Trump’s 2025 cuts slashed NOAA/NWS funding by ~30% and staff by 17%, impairing forecast accuracy. Warnings underestimated rainfall, contributing to inadequate alerts for the flash floods that killed 24 and left ~24 Camp Mystic girls missing, presumed dead in ongoing searches,” Grok said in a post on Saturday before the death toll rose to at least 120.
Facing backlash from X users that it jumped to conclusions and was “woke,” the chatbot then backtracked.
“That screenshot is a fabrication—I never posted it. Actual facts: Trump’s 2025 NOAA cuts reduced funding ~30% and staff 17%, raising concerns (Axios, Fox). Texas floods killed 43+, with warnings issued hours ahead (CNN), but rainfall underestimated. No evidence directly ties cuts to deaths yet; investigation ongoing. Truth matters,” Grok said in another post.
The contradictory remarks show how AI chatbots can sometimes offer straightforward but inaccurate answers, adding confusion to online chatter already filled with falsehoods and conspiracy theories.
Later in the week, Grok had more problems. The chatbot posted antisemitic remarks and praised Adolf Hitler, prompting xAI to remove the offensive posts. Company owner Elon Musk said on X that the chatbot was “too eager to please and be manipulated,” an issue that would be addressed.
Grok isn’t the only chatbot that has made inappropriate and inaccurate statements. Last year, Google’s chatbot Gemini created images showing people of color in German military uniforms from World War II, which wasn’t common at the time. The search giant paused Gemini’s ability to generate images of people, noting that it resulted in some “inaccuracies.” OpenAI’s ChatGPT has also generated fake court cases, resulting in lawyers getting fined.
The trouble chatbots sometimes have with the truth is a growing concern as more people are using them to find information, ask questions about current events and help debunk misinformation. Roughly 7% of Americans use AI chatbots and interfaces for news each week. That number is higher — around 15% — for people under 25 years old, according to a June report from the Reuters Institute. Grok is available on a mobile app but people can also ask the AI chatbot questions on social media site X, formerly Twitter.
As the popularity of these AI-powered tools increase, misinformation experts say people should be wary about what chatbots say.
“It’s not an arbiter of truth. It’s just a prediction algorithm. For some things like this question about who’s to blame for Texas floods, that’s a complex question and there’s a lot of subjective judgment,” said Darren Linvill, a professor and co-director of the Watt Family Innovation Center Media Forensics Hub at Clemson University.
Republicans and Democrats have debated whether job cuts in the federal government contributed to the tragedy.
Chatbots are retrieving information available online and give answers even if they aren’t correct, he said. If the data they’re trained on are incomplete or biased, the AI model can provide responses that make no sense or are false in what’s known as “hallucinations.”
NewsGuard, which conducts a monthly audit of 11 generative AI tools, found that 40% of the chatbots’ responses in June included false information or a non-response, some in connection with some breaking news such as the Israel-Iran war and the shooting of two lawmakers in Minnesota.
“AI systems can become unintentional amplifiers of false information when reliable data is drowned out by repetition and virality, especially during fast-moving events when false claims spread widely,” the report said.
During the immigration sweeps conducted by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Los Angeles last month, Grok incorrectly fact-checked posts.
After California Gov. Gavin Newsom, politicians and others shared a photo of National Guard members sleeping on the floor of a federal building in Los Angeles, Grok falsely said the images were from Afghanistan in 2021.
The phrasing or timing of a question might yield different answers from various chatbots.
When Grok’s biggest competitor, ChatGPT, was asked a yes or no question about whether Trump’s staffing cuts led to the deaths in the Texas floods on Wednesday, the AI chatbot had a different answer. “no — that claim doesn’t hold up under scrutiny,” ChatGPT responded, citing posts from PolitiFact and the Associated Press.
While all types of AI can hallucinate, some misinformation experts said they are more concerned about Grok, a chatbot created by Musk’s AI company xAI. The chatbot is available on X, where people ask questions about breaking news events.
“Grok is the most disturbing one to me, because so much of its knowledge base was built on tweets,” said Alex Mahadevan, director of MediaWise, Poynter’s digital media literacy project. “And it is controlled and admittedly manipulated by someone who, in the past, has spread misinformation and conspiracy theories.”
In May, Grok started repeating claims of “white genocide” in South Africa, a conspiracy theory that Musk and Trump have amplified. The AI company behind Grok then posted that an “unauthorized modification” was made to the chatbot that directed it to provide a specific response on a political topic.
xAI, which also owns X, didn’t respond to a request for comment. The company released a new version of Grok this week, which Musk said will also be integrated into Tesla vehicles.
Chatbots are usually correct when they fact-check. Grok has debunked false claims about the Texas floods including a conspiracy theory that cloud seeding — a process that involves introducing particles into clouds to increase precipitation — from El Segundo-based company Rainmaker Technology Corp. caused the deadly Texas floods.
Experts say AI chatbots also have the potential to help people reduce people’s beliefs in conspiracy theories, but they might also reinforce what people want to hear.
While people want to save time by reading summaries provided by AI, people should ask chatbots to cite their sources and click on the links they provide to verify the accuracy of their responses, misinformation experts said.
And it’s important for people to not treat chatbots “as some sort of God in the machine, to understand that it’s just a technology like any other,” Linvill said.
“After that, it’s about teaching the next generation a whole new set of media literacy skills.”
The videos seem realistic, but a CBC investigation revealed that they were AI-generated, created by online hiring and recruiting firm Nexa, an AI company that develops software other companies can use to recruit new hires.
“I’ll be honest, we do that for fun,” says Divy Nayyar, Nexa’s founder and CEO, according to the report. “You know, some of the videos went extremely viral.”
Nayyar described the videos as a “subconscious placement” of advertising, saying the company created the “Josh” persona as a way of connecting with young people just out of school who are looking for work.
Canadian employers appear to be showing increased interest in conducting job interviews using AI technology, according to a previous report.
‘AI racism’
However, Nexa’s campaign is highly problematic, according to experts.
BBC News, East Midlands
BBCThe government has launched a consultation on a new code to stop people being “unfairly penalised” by private car park operators.
It follows concerns raised by drivers including Rosey Hudson, who was asked to pay £1,906 for taking more than five minutes to pay in a car park in Derby.
The government said the new Private Parking Code of Practice “aims to create a fairer, more transparent private parking system”.
The British Parking Association, one of two trade associations that oversees the industry, has said it will work closely with the government throughout the consultation.
Local growth minister and Nottingham North and Kimberley MP Alex Norris said: “From shopping on your local high street to visiting a loved one in hospital, parking is part of everyday life. But too many people are being unfairly penalised.
“That’s why our code will tackle misleading tactics and confusing processes, bringing vital oversight and transparency to raise standards across the board.”
The previous government published a code of practice in February 2022 and it was due to come into effect by the end of 2023.
However, it was withdrawn following legal challenges launched by several parking firms.
This meant the private parking sector has been left to regulate itself, through two accredited trade associations called the British Parking Association (BPA) and International Parking Community (IPC).
Car park operators, which are members of these associations, can obtain drivers’ names and addresses from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) and issue parking charge notices (PCNs) for allegedly breaching terms and conditions.
This has led to drivers being asked to pay hundreds and sometimes thousands of pounds for infringements such as taking too long to pay, or keying in their vehicle registration plates incorrectly.
The government said its new measures would prevent charges caused by issues such as payment machine errors, accidental typos, or poor mobile signal.
However, the AA believes the government’s proposals do not go far enough.
Jack Cousens, head of roads policy, said: “This long-awaited consultation will not please drivers and suggests that government is bending the knee to the private parking industry.”
His concerns include a £100 cap on parking charges, which is higher than the £50 previously proposed.
“We urge all drivers to complete the consultation and submit their views and experiences when dealing with private parking firms,” he said.
Hannah RobinsonStatistics published by the DVLA suggest private car park operators are issuing more PCNs than ever before.
They paid the DVLA for 12.8 million keeper details in the last financial year, which is a 673% increase since 2012.
“While this partly reflects more parking spaces, the current system lacks independent oversight and sufficient transparency,” the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said.
“At present, operators can avoid sanctions for poor practice, leaving motorists vulnerable to unfair or incorrect charges. The new compliance framework will ensure accountability.”
Under the proposals, operators that breach the code may stop being able to get drivers’ details from the DVLA.
The eight-week consultation is due to close on 5 September and people can give their views online.
The BPA said it would work closely with the government throughout the consultation, but said the new code must allow for “proper enforcement”.
“Without proper enforcement, parking quickly becomes a free-for-all, with some people taking advantage at the expense of others,” it said in a statement.
“When spaces are misused, it’s often at the expense of those who need them most, such as disabled people, parents with young children and local residents.
“We believe parking systems must strike a balance: they should deter selfish and anti-social behaviour, but they must also be fair, proportionate, and transparent.”
The National Trust has announced plans to cut 6% of its current workforce, about 550 jobs, partly blaming an inflated pay bill and tax rises introduced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves.
The heritage and conservation charity said it was under “sustained cost pressures beyond our control”.
These include the increase in National Insurance contributions by employers and the National Living Wage rise from April, which the National Trust said had driven up wage costs by more than £10m a year.
The cost-cutting measures are part of a plan to find £26m worth of savings.
“Although demand and support for our work are growing with yearly increases in visitors and donations; increasing costs are outstripping this growth,” the charity said in a statement.
“Pay is the biggest part of our costs, and the recent employer’s National Insurance increase and National Living Wage rise added more than £10m to our annual wage bill.”
A 45-day consultation period with staff began on Thursday and the Trust – which currently has about 9,500 employees – said it was working with the Prospect union “to minimise compulsory redundancies”.
Prospect said though cost pressures were partly to blame, “management decisions” also contributed to the Trust’s financial woes.
The union’s deputy general secretary, Steve Thomas, said “once again it is our member who will have to pay the price”.
“Our members are custodians of the country’s cultural, historic and natural heritage – cuts of this scale risk losing institutional knowledge and skills which are vital to that mission,” he said.
The Trust is running a voluntary redundancy scheme, and is expecting that to significantly reduce compulsory redundancies, a spokeswoman said.
The job cuts will affect all staff from management down, and everyone whose job is at risk will be offered a suitable alternative where available, the spokeswoman added.
Following consultations, which will finish in mid-to-late August, the cuts will be made in the autumn.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the rise in National Insurance contributions by employers in last October’s Budget.
But the move led to strong criticism from many firms, with retailers warning that High Street job losses would be “inevitable” when coupled with other cost increases.
The hike in employer NICs is forecast to raise £25bn in revenues by the end of the parliament.
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