No Hallucination: AI Candidate on the Ballot for UK Election 

A man carries shopping bags as he walks through the town center of Bury, northwest England, on June 13, 2024. (AFP)
A man carries shopping bags as he walks through the town center of Bury, northwest England, on June 13, 2024. (AFP)
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No Hallucination: AI Candidate on the Ballot for UK Election 

A man carries shopping bags as he walks through the town center of Bury, northwest England, on June 13, 2024. (AFP)
A man carries shopping bags as he walks through the town center of Bury, northwest England, on June 13, 2024. (AFP)

When voters go to the polls in one English town next month, they will get the chance to elect what is being billed as the world's first AI lawmaker.

Businessman Steve Endacott is among hundreds of candidates standing to become a member of parliament at Britain's July 4 national election - except unlike the others, the face on his campaign leaflet is not the 59-year-old, but an AI generated avatar.

"We're launching a party, we're going to be recruiting more AI candidates across the country after this election, and we see this as the launch, building block for something big and something democratic," he told Reuters.

Endacott, whose Neural Voice company powers his AI alter ego, said his frustration with "standard politics" made him decide to run as an independent for the Brighton Pavilion constituency in the southern seaside town.

"AI Steve" - the name that will appear on ballot papers - engages real-time with locals on topics ranging from rights and housing to bin collection and immigration. It then puts forward policy ideas before asking for their suggestions.

"We're using AI in so many (areas), at work, social interactions, why don't we put it in politics?" said charity worker Eona Johnston, 23, after meeting "AI Steve" near Brighton’s famous pier. "It might change the way we live."

When asked about AI Steve, the Electoral Commission, the elections watchdog, said if he wins, Endacott would be the member of parliament (MP), not any AI version of him.

Most locals appeared reluctant to vote for an AI candidate just yet.

Jim Cheek, a 37-year-old accountant from Brighton, pointed out that an MP has to speak up for constituents in parliament.

"AI and politicians have one thing in common," another local resident, Andy Clawson, 42, said. "They can’t be trusted."



Elon Musk's AI Chatbot Grok Gets an Update, Starts Sharing Antisemitic Posts

xAI and Grok logos are seen in this illustration taken, February 16, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
xAI and Grok logos are seen in this illustration taken, February 16, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
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Elon Musk's AI Chatbot Grok Gets an Update, Starts Sharing Antisemitic Posts

xAI and Grok logos are seen in this illustration taken, February 16, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
xAI and Grok logos are seen in this illustration taken, February 16, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company said Wednesday that it's taking down “inappropriate posts" made by its Grok chatbot, which appeared to include antisemitic comments that praised Adolf Hitler.

Grok was developed by Musk’s xAI and pitched as alternative to “woke AI” interactions from rival chatbots like Google’s Gemini, or OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

Musk said Friday that Grok has been improved significantly, and users “should notice a difference.”

Since then, Grok has shared several antisemitic posts, including the trope that Jews run Hollywood, and denied that such a stance could be described as Nazism.

“Labeling truths as hate speech stifles discussion,” Grok said.

It also appeared to praise Hitler, according to screenshots of a post that has now apparently been deleted.

“We are aware of recent posts made by Grok and are actively working to remove the inappropriate posts,” the Grok account posted early Wednesday, without being more specific.

"Since being made aware of the content, xAI has taken action to ban hate speech before Grok posts on X. xAI is training only truth-seeking and thanks to the millions of users on X, we are able to quickly identify and update the model where training could be improved.

Also Wednesday, a court in Türkiye ordered a ban on Grok after it spread content insulting to Turkish President and others.

The pro-government A Haber news channel reported that Grok posted vulgarities against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, his late mother and well-known personalities. Offensive responses were also directed toward modern Türkiye's founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, other media outlets said.

That prompted the Ankara public prosecutor to file for the imposition of restrictions under Türkiye's internet law, citing a threat to public order. A criminal court approved the request early on Wednesday, ordering the country’s telecommunications authority to enforce the ban.

It's not the first time Grok's behavior has raised questions.

Earlier this year the chatbot kept talking about South African racial politics and the subject of “white genocide” despite being asked a variety of questions, most of which had nothing to do with the country. An “unauthorized modification” was behind the problem, xAI said.