Resemblance ‘seems to be coincidental somewhat than intentional’
What occurs when the world’s richest man introduces a brand new AI instrument that some customers say has a satanic image?
Elon Musk’s xAI, which made its Grok AI chatbot out there at no cost to all customers final month, has been the subject of debate amongst X customers who’ve prompt its brand resembles an upside-down damaged cross.
The chatbot, a part of Elon Musk’s broader xAI initiative, was made free to all customers in December. Whereas separate from the X platform itself, Grok AI falls underneath the X Corp. branding and leverages insights from the platform previously generally known as Twitter.
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So, how did it find yourself with its present brand?
After two preliminary variations, Grok — a phrase which the Oxford English Dictionary defines as “to understand intuitively or by empathy, to establish rapport with” — debuted a brand new brand in December, which instantly drew scrutiny for its resemblance to a cross snapped in half and damaged off to the aspect.
The cross and Grok. pic.twitter.com/v6i4W4XJBP
— Bronze Big (@RjNol) January 12, 2025
Oh snap, he lastly modified the Grok icon to the XAi brand with the toppled, damaged cross. Say hiya to your pleasant “antichrist” everybody.
Issues are shifting alongside properly for the False Prophet. ???? pic.twitter.com/PMoEfB3xlZ
— OccupyHeaven777 (@occupyheaven777) January 3, 2025
Why does the brand new Grok brand seem like a damaged cross? pic.twitter.com/U0hS0yAl7C
— Gnoticer Media (@GnoticerMedia) January 8, 2025
The Grok brand is actually a cross snapped in half. pic.twitter.com/EU7zqQAy8w
— blooming iris (@lisacam60629063) January 16, 2025
most of you see Grok.
I see a toppled and damaged cross.
you can not unsee it as soon as seen. pic.twitter.com/gEbtFztX7E
— SovrnInsurgent (@SovrnInsurgent) January 3, 2025
When requested why its new brand resembles a damaged cross, the Grok chatbot instructed CP Thursday the image will be considered as a “design choice” that symbolizes “non-conformity” and “rebellion against dogma.”
“In some contexts, a broken cross might be reminiscent of historical or cultural artifacts where crosses are depicted as broken to signify defeat, change, or transformation,” Grok acknowledged. “Here, it might imply that Grok aims to transform or evolve the way AI interacts with humans.”
Nonetheless, when requested the identical question a second time, Grok denied the icon was a damaged cross, saying it is “actually a stylized representation of a brain, symbolizing intelligence and thought. … The lines and curves in the icon are meant to evoke the complexity and connectivity of neural pathways in a brain, rather than any religious symbol.”
In one other assorted response, Grok stated the “logo’s resemblance to a broken cross appears to be coincidental rather than intentional.”
“The design focuses on simplicity and represents the AI’s purpose of understanding and growth, without any explicit reference to Christian or anti-Christian symbolism,” it acknowledged.
The Christian Publish reached out to Grok for touch upon the emblem. A response is pending.
Whereas primarily the main focus of extra conspiracy-minded customers, the design alternative for Grok takes on one other layer of which means when Musk’s public persona is taken into account.
The 53-year-old Tesla and SpaceX CEO instructed Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson in an interview final July that the choice to construct a supercomputer in Memphis evoked references, a minimum of partially, to the Memphis of historic Egypt and its pantheon of gods.
“Perhaps that’s where our new god will come from,” Musk stated.
Musk has made comparable feedback earlier than: in April 2023, he instructed former Fox Information host Tucker Carlson that Google co-founder Larry Web page as soon as instructed him he hoped to construct an AI super-intelligence that Musk described as a “digital god.”
He’s additionally proven an affinity for the inverted cross image prior to now when he wore the now-infamous “Devil’s Champion” costume in 2022, which featured an upside-down cross image together with the goat’s head icon, a reference to the satanic Baphomet image.
One in every of Musk’s many ventures, Neuralink, a medical machine firm creating implantable brain-computer interface microchips, has additionally aroused suspicion from Christian lecturers and bioethicists alike.
As of January, three sufferers have participated in Neuralink’s medical trials. The corporate expects to carry out as much as 30 implants in 2025.
“Well bless their hearts.”
