RM Ethereum Founder Vitalik Buterin Praises Elon Musk’s Grok, Calls It a Major Step Forward
Vitalik Buterin, the billionaire co-founder of Ethereum, has recently spoken positively about Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok and its integration into X (formerly Twitter). In a post shared on the platform, Buterin described Grok as “probably the biggest thing after Community Notes,” highlighting its potential to improve the platform’s overall accuracy and honesty.
According to Buterin, the ability for users to easily summon Grok in conversations plays an important role in making discussions more truthful. He noted that one of Grok’s strengths is its unpredictability, explaining that users cannot anticipate how the AI will respond. This, he said, often leads to situations where people expect the bot to confirm extreme political opinions, only for Grok to challenge or contradict them instead.
Buterin also addressed concerns about Grok’s use of reinforcement learning from human feedback (RLHF). When asked how worried he was about the influence of Elon Musk’s views on the AI’s training, he replied that it is “definitely worrying.” He cautioned that reliance on human feedback could introduce bias, potentially aligning the chatbot too closely with Musk’s perspectives.
Despite these concerns, Buterin argued that Grok still represents a net improvement for the platform. Even under pessimistic assumptions about Musk’s influence, he suggested that Grok is more beneficial than much of the low-quality third-party content commonly seen on X, referencing ideas similar to “stationary bandit theory.”
Buterin’s Earlier Criticism of Musk
Earlier this month, Buterin had taken a more critical stance toward Musk and the direction of X. In a post tagging Musk directly, he warned that the platform was drifting away from its original free-speech mission. He argued that transforming X into a symbol of free expression while allowing it to become a tool for coordinated hate campaigns could ultimately harm the very principles it claims to defend.
Buterin expressed serious concern that such developments might trigger strong backlash against values he deeply cares about in the coming years.
