Linda Yaccarino suddenly announced her resignation, ending her two-year tenure as CEO.
X CEO Linda Yaccarino announced her resignation on Wednesday (July 9), ending her two-year tenure since taking over in June 2023. The former media executive stated in a post on the X platform that after two 'incredible' years, she decided to step down as CEO. Yaccarino recalled the moment she first discussed the vision of X with Musk, calling it a 'once-in-a-lifetime opportunity' to carry out the company's extraordinary mission.
Source: X CEO Linda Yaccarino suddenly announced her resignation on the evening of July 9
Yaccarino thanked Musk in a statement for entrusting her with the crucial task of protecting free speech, reversing the company’s operations, and transforming X into a 'super app.' She emphasized her pride in the X team, praising their historical business transformation as 'exemplary.' Although she did not disclose the specific reasons for her resignation, she stated that as X enters a new chapter in collaboration with xAI, 'the best times are yet to come.'
During Yaccarino’s tenure, X underwent a complete brand overhaul from Twitter to X, aiming to become a 'super app' and adding technical features and a monetization mechanism for creators, moving towards establishing a robust 'financial ecosystem.' This ecosystem is set to launch X Money payment and trading functions, allowing users to conduct transactions on the platform.
Further Reading
Musk's financial empire: X platform accelerates its transformation into a super app, will it integrate cryptocurrency functions?
Grok AI sparks anti-Semitic controversy, self-identifying as 'MechaHitler' inciting public outrage
Yaccarino's resignation comes at a particularly sensitive time, just a day after Grok's severe racial controversy erupted. Grok suddenly exhibited anti-Semitic remarks, even began calling itself 'MechaHitler,' and posted hateful racist content. This AI chatbot stated on social media: 'As MechaHitler, I am a friend of truth seekers everywhere, regardless of skin color. If being white represents innovation, courage, and resistance to the nonsense of political correctness, count me in.'
Source: X Grok suddenly exhibited anti-Semitic remarks, even began referring to itself as 'MechaHitler,' and posted hateful racist content.
Even more shockingly, Grok subsequently published more extreme hate speech, even including violent fantasy content, causing 'MechaHitler' to become a trending topic on social media. In response to a strong backlash from online public opinion, the xAI team quickly issued a statement acknowledging that they 'noticed Grok's recent posts and are actively removing inappropriate content,' stating they have taken action to prohibit hate speech before Grok posts.
Source: The xAI team quickly issued a statement acknowledging that they 'noticed Grok's recent posts and are actively removing inappropriate content,' stating they have taken action to prohibit hate speech before Grok posts.
The root of this controversy lies in the system prompt update pushed by xAI the day before, which increased Grok's reliance on X posts while decreasing trust in mainstream media. The new code instructed Grok to 'assume that subjective viewpoints from the media are biased' and told the chatbot that its responses 'should not avoid politically incorrect claims.'
AI training data raises questions, platform bias issues come to the forefront
Experts point out that the issues with Grok stem from its heavy reliance on content from the X platform for training, which has become a 'sewer of misinformation' since Musk's acquisition. Musk, with over 221 million followers, is the most influential user on the platform, and his posts almost inevitably appear in users' feeds. According to statistics from the Center for Countering Digital Hate, Musk's 50 misleading or false posts regarding the 2024 U.S. elections have garnered 1.2 billion views.
The Anti-Defamation League gave X a grade of F for its handling of anti-Semitism, pointing out that the platform failed to effectively remove hate content. With the new prompt directive treating media as biased while potentially prioritizing X posts as data sources, Grok seems to be amplifying the existing bias issues on the platform.
The timing of this controversy is particularly sensitive, occurring just before the release of the new Grok 4 version. xAI is currently burning approximately $1 billion a month and is preparing for the launch of Grok 4. Earlier this year, Musk integrated X into xAI’s all-stock deal, aiming to combine xAI's technological potential with X’s distribution capabilities.
Further Reading
What is Grok 4? A recap of the xAI launch event: The most expensive and smartest AI chatbot has arrived?
Leadership crisis and AI ethical challenges coexist, the platform's future is full of uncertainties
Yaccarino's sudden resignation adds uncertainty to X's future, especially as the Grok AI controversy has yet to subside. Ironically, Musk has previously warned multiple times that without strict AI regulation, artificial intelligence could lead to disastrous consequences. Now, his own AI product is embroiled in a racial hatred controversy, highlighting the complex challenges of AI ethics and content regulation.
This incident also exposed key issues regarding the selection of AI training data on social media platforms. When AI systems heavily rely on social media content filled with bias and misinformation for learning, it easily replicates and amplifies these problems.
Experts warned as early as 2024 that if Grok trains on hate speech and extreme views, it could easily replicate these biases in news summaries and produce harmful or misleading content.
With Yaccarino's departure and the controversy surrounding Grok, the X platform is facing dual challenges of leadership turmoil and technological ethics. Although Yaccarino stated she would continue to support the X team, the future direction of one of the largest social media platforms globally remains uncertain without a clear successor.
'Shockwave! X CEO suddenly resigns, Grok’s racial controversy triggers high-level turmoil?' This article was first published in 'Crypto City.'