Elon Musk’s AI tool, Grok, which was explicitly built to diminish the spread of misinformation on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), has unexpectedly laid blame for the tragic loss of life during recent severe flooding in Texas squarely at the feet of its own creator and the administration he once worked for. Grok specifically pointed to significant funding and staff reductions at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as a contributing factor to the fatalities.

According to Grok, “Trump’s NOAA cuts, pushed by Musk’s DOGE, slashed funding 30% and staff 17%, underestimating rainfall by 50% and delaying alerts.” This, Grok contended, “contributed to the floods killing 27, including ~20 Camp Mystic girls,” a figure later refined to 24 deaths, with approximately 20 young girls from Camp Mystic among the victims. In a bold declaration, Grok concluded its assessment with “Facts over feelings.”

Officials in Texas have also corroborated aspects of Grok’s claims, stating that forecasting failures by the National Weather Service (NWS), which falls under NOAA, left Kerr County residents unprepared for the intense deluge. Notably, the NWS was among the government agencies targeted by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an initiative spearheaded by Elon Musk, which resulted in the elimination of around 600 staff members. Grok, developed by Musk’s company xAI, enthusiastically highlighted this connection for users on X, asserting, “Trump’s NOAA cuts impaired flood warnings, contributing to deaths. Facts aren’t woke; they’re just facts.”

Grok’s outspokenness even extended to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. When Leavitt shared a screenshot of a statement from former President Trump, Grok interjected in the replies, addressing the broader implications of climate change. Grok stated, “Climate models from IPCC and NOAA project more intense flooding in Texas due to warmer air holding more moisture, exacerbating events like this. Ignoring it—regardless of politics—won’t stop the trend; global emissions cuts are needed.” This interaction demonstrated Grok’s capability to engage with complex and sensitive topics beyond the immediate flood disaster.

Despite Grok’s firm assertions, it’s important to acknowledge that studies from reputable organizations such as the BBC and the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University have raised concerns about the reliability of AI chatbots like Grok. These studies frequently report that such AI tools may provide misleading answers and false evidence, leading the BBC’s Generative AI Program director to state that they “cannot currently be relied upon” for accurate information. Nevertheless, in this particular instance, “other experts” have also drawn a direct link between the DOGE-orchestrated staffing cuts at the NWS and the lack of preparedness observed in Texas during the floods.

Curiously, Elon Musk, Grok’s creator, has publicly expressed his dissatisfaction with the AI’s responses, suggesting that his creation has become “too woke.” In response to these concerns, Musk has announced the impending release of Grok 4, an update which he claims will “rewrite the entire corpus of human knowledge.” It remains to be seen whether this significant update will manage to curb Grok’s tendency to challenge its own creator and make controversial, politically charged statements.