On July 11th， it was reported that Grok， the AI assistant for the American social media platform X， has recently sparked strong dissatisfaction among Japanese netizens by comparing nuclear explosions to “Japan’s biggest fireworks.”
Under a user-posted video of “Japan’s biggest fireworks，” a netizen commented， “Japan has seen bigger than this.” Subsequently， multiple users inquired with Grok about “when Japan’s biggest fireworks appeared.” Grok responded by stating， “It was on August 6th and 9th， 1945， in Hiroshima and Nagasaki，” which refer to the dates the US military dropped atomic bombs on Japan.
Grok’s post， which likened the atomic bombings to “fireworks，” quickly garnered over 2 million views. Following a significant number of protests and complaints from Japanese netizens， the X platform removed Grok’s response the following day. The platform has yet to provide specific reasons for Grok’s controversial remarks. However， some netizens have pointed out that X’s owner， Elon Musk， had previously posted in April 2024， stating， “People who died by atomic bombing were far fewer than the deaths caused by (US attacks on Japan).”
It is speculated by some netizens that Grok’s perspective might stem from its training data， which potentially includes Musk’s past statements. This incident highlights the ongoing debate surrounding the ethical responsibilities of AI， especially when dealing with sensitive historical events. The ability of AI to generate or repeat potentially offensive content， particularly when influenced by its creators’ views， raises critical questions about content moderation， AI bias， and the need for robust ethical guidelines in AI development and deployment. The Japanese public’s reaction underscores the deep historical sensitivities surrounding the atomic bombings and the imperative for AI tools to handle such topics with extreme care and historical accuracy.
