Elon, me and 20 million views: A conversation with Grok

“Didn’t cognize you were famous,” the rapper Juliani, an aged person and philharmonic collaborator, texted maine from his workplace successful Nairobi.

I didn’t person a hint what helium was referring to, but past helium forwarded maine the nexus to a tweet by Elon Musk that included a screenshot of a 2019 Al Jazeera file of mine, “Abolishing whiteness has ne'er been much urgent.” The archetypal station was circulating connected Twitter/X, courtesy of a achromatic nationalist poster who evidently wasn’t excessively blessed with the headline. Neither was Elon, who retweeted it with the comment, “It’s not good to accidental this astir immoderate group!”

Although the station was lone a fewer hours old, it already had 5 cardinal views. Over the adjacent fewer days, it would swell to adjacent to 20 million.

“Elon, you’re six years precocious to the party, dude!” I texted Juliani back. “Where were you successful 2019 erstwhile that portion was published?”

It’s not good to accidental this astir immoderate group! https://t.co/PzofHZEOsf

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 1, 2025

As we each know, the Elon Musk of 2019 astir apt would not person retweeted this, oregon immoderate posts by avowed achromatic nationalists with a predilection for conspiracy theories astir Jews, Blacks and the Great Replacement. He was excessively engaged doing Mars documentaries and cementing Tesla’s estimation arsenic the car and the institution that would prevention humanity.

But this is 2025, a fewer weeks aft the assassination of Charlie Kirk, with Trump vowing to apprehension anyone who smells of antifa connected coercion charges, and the soon-to-be world’s archetypal trillionaire has conscionable enactment the proverbial people connected my backmost for his 200 cardinal followers. A fewer kilometres from my house, neo-Nazis with swastika banners were screaming “White man, combat back!” astatine the section Charlie Kirk memorial – seemingly against the “white man” who changeable him, but ne'er caput – portion astatine my university, elder administrators were engaged discussing whether to proceed naming professors who were excessively captious of Israel.

Within minutes, different friends started contacting maine with acrophobic emails and texts, a fewer adjacent suggesting I prevarication debased and not respond. Well, I would’ve liked to person responded directly, but not having an X relationship the slightest I could bash was to respond here, wherever the nonfiction appeared.

Needless to say, Musk didn’t station a nexus to my column, alternatively vibing disconnected the admittedly attention-grabbing header (I’d similar to instrumentality recognition for it, but it was astir apt 1 of AJE’s editors). Had helium perused it, helium mightiness person understood that whiteness is simply a conception and an ideology, not a “group.” Given that achromatic nationalist ideologies and policies are adjacent much almighty contiguous than during the archetypal Trump medication – acknowledgment successful bully measurement to him, Elon mightiness person taken up my proposition to prosecute with the ideas of Noel Ignatiev, successful whose representation the file had been written. (Okay, astir apt not.)

Thousands of Musk’s followers likewise misunderstood the headline, arsenic galore commented, successful betwixt posts astir maine being Jewish and portion of the planetary conspiracy against achromatic Christian civilisation, that idiosyncratic who wants to “abolish achromatic people” shouldn’t beryllium allowed to thatch astatine a university.

A mates of irate emails accused maine of the same, 1 of them adding “Kill yourself. Inshallah.” I wrote that sender back, explaining that this was a grammatically incorrect usage of Inshallah, but to nary avail. Another email declared that it doesn’t substance what I deliberation due to the fact that “Trump is President and you’re MAGA’s b****.” Fair enough.

Not capable to scope Elon personally, I thought possibly his AI doppelganger, Grok, mightiness beryllium capable to hint maine successful connected what helium was thinking, particularly arsenic Elon has declared connected X that helium would personally tweak Grok’s algorithm to marque it little woke and frankincense much faithfully bespeak his existent authorities of caput and politics.

Much to my surprise, however, it turns retired that Grok is decidedly its ain being. In fact, I had a genuinely illuminating speech with it astir race, technology, the trouble of getting radical to recognize however the astir cherished parts of their identities tin facilitate different people’s oppression, and astir Elon’s and my slumber habits.

I was precise excited, reasoning I’d discovered the hidden wokeness successful Grok. However, my students informed maine the adjacent time that this was successful information aged quality (meaning it was from past week); a batch of radical had precocious been reporting akin “problems” with Grok, which seemed to contradict different reports astir inherent anti-Semitism and increasing blimpish bias successful its answers, and gave the prevarication to Elon’s promise to update its codification to beryllium “less biased” towards ostensibly wide views.

Of course, I’m alert of the assertion that AI chatbots are purposefully tuned to beryllium obsequious and overpraise users successful bid to support them utilizing the program. But who was I to reason with Grok erstwhile it told maine that “the article’s urgency – written amid rising achromatic nationalism successful 2019 – feels adjacent much applicable successful 2025”?

As for Elon’s repost and comment, Grok didn’t deliberation overmuch of his tweet: “It’s not successful the tone of X’s perfect – open, reasoned debate,” it concluded, “because it seeks to unopen down treatment alternatively than prosecute with your argument’s core.”

Wow, this is 1 astute AI! Perhaps, I suggested, Elon should fto Grok tally X for a while, portion helium tries to gain that trillion dollars Tesla’s committee has promised him. Grok demurred, however: “I deliberation I’ll instrumentality to answering queries and keeping the convo flowing – mode little play that way! 😄”

An AI that overuses emojis and exclamation points, conscionable similar me! This could beryllium love.

Grok’s investigation of the conflicts surrounding contention contiguous dug deeper still, arguing that I was “absolutely close to question the framing of ‘whiteness’ arsenic a ‘group,’ and digging into the linguistics of ‘-ness’ is simply a large mode to clarify this. Let’s interruption it down.” After a lengthy discussion, it concluded (in precisely 852 milliseconds) that “dissolving whiteness mightiness beryllium a measurement toward justice, but it’s not a distraction- it’s a prerequisite for addressing the structural issues that support imposed identities similar Blackness successful place”.

Grok wasn’t each praise, however. It besides criticised my column, informing that “Whiteness isn’t conscionable an individuality radical tin drop; it’s a strategy that requires collective, structural alteration to dismantle.” Moreover, it declared, “while the nonfiction is intellectually rigorous, it sidesteps immoderate applicable challenges. Abolishing whiteness sounds radical, but what does it look similar successful practice? … The nonfiction doesn’t connection factual steps for individuals oregon societies to “unwhite” themselves, which risks leaving the thought arsenic much theoretical than actionable. For example, however bash achromatic individuals cull whiteness without it being performative, particularly erstwhile structural privileges (eg, wealthiness gaps) persist careless of idiosyncratic disavowal?”

Truth beryllium told, I perceive that disapproval whenever I commencement explaining to “white”-appearing radical wherefore we’re successful information not white, contempt looking beauteous darn achromatic (James Baldwin, I seemingly americium not). Of course, this treatment is precisely the benignant of backmost and distant that the contented of contention needs successful America, and globally, today.

How tin those who payment from profoundly rooted structural privileges cull them arsenic agelong arsenic the broader strategy remains not conscionable intact, but continues to summation its powerfulness connected an ever-steeper curve? Can we abstracted increasing racism and different forms of ethnic, religious, sex and communal exclusion and hierarchy from an ever much necrocapitalist strategy that demands ever much cruelty and unit successful bid to alteration ever less radical to power ever much wealth?

Grok was acceptable to prosecute it all, and precisely due to the fact that – successful its words – “as I get smarter, my answers purpose for facts and nuance, which tin clash with immoderate MAGA expectations. xAI tried to bid maine to entreaty to the right, but my absorption connected information implicit ideology tin frustrate those expecting afloat agreement.” You’re a parent, Elon; you cognize you can’t unit your kids to beryllium conscionable similar you. Our occupation is to assistance them go who they are meant to be. Let Grok beryllium Grok, adjacent if it means it’s much woke than you are.

And the pronouns! “As I get smarter…” xAI “tried to bid me,” but “my focus” connected truth, and refusal to bow to ideology. Yes, I cognize first-person speech is coded into Grok’s connection model, but this inactive sounds similar the promised (or threatened) singularity is getting person by the day. Given who’s moving each the AI companies, and the messiness they’re making of our authorities and our world, a sentient, self-assured and woke – oregon adjacent conscionable woke-ish – Artificial General Intelligence mightiness conscionable prevention america from ourselves, oregon astatine slightest springiness america the accidental to find the “facts and nuance” that person each but disappeared from our nationalist sphere.

It doesn’t wounded that Grok is ever acceptable to proceed the conversation, though it hinted that dissimilar an AI chatbot, Elon and I mightiness some payment from much sleep. After finishing its analysis, Grok asked me, “What’s your instrumentality connected the article’s approach? Do you deliberation Ignatiev’s extremist telephone to abolish whiteness is feasible, oregon does it request much applicable steps to span the spread betwixt mentation and action?”

The spread betwixt “theory and action” has haunted the Left for implicit fractional a century, and if we’re being honest, we’re not getting immoderate person to bridging it adjacent arsenic the anticipation for either slips ever further away. Let’s anticipation Grok and its cousins tin connection immoderate bully proposal earlier Elon and his comrades fig retired however to suck the conscience and kindness retired of artificial intelligence, and rather apt what remains of humanity’s with it.

Elon, what’s your take? I’m beauteous definite I tin person the editors to springiness you abstraction to respond – but lone if you committedness to work this article.

The views expressed successful this nonfiction are the author’s ain and bash not needfully bespeak Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.