Grokipedia, the new online encyclopedia from xAI founded by Elon Musk, is officially online, but its debut has been immediately engulfed in controversy. Launched with the ambitious goal of becoming a “more truthful” alternative to Wikipedia, the platform is accused of extensively copying content from its rival and promoting a biased view on sensitive topics.
What is Grokipedia? The “AI-First” Alternative to Wikipedia
Grokipedia is Elon Musk’s answer to what he calls the “propaganda” and “ideological bias” of Wikipedia. Unlike the collaborative encyclopedia based on human editors, Grokipedia is an “AI-first” project: its content is generated and curated by Grok, xAI’s artificial intelligence model.
Currently in preliminary version 0.1, the site features:
- A minimalist, text-only design (no images or videos).
- Approximately 900,000 available pages.
- Accessibility only in the English language.
Musk’s stated goal is to provide a source of knowledge based on real-time, AI-guaranteed fact-checking to pursue “the truth.”
The Main Accusation: Did Grokipedia Copy Wikipedia?
The heaviest criticism leveled at Grokipedia is its evident lack of originality. Despite promises of independence, several news outlets, including The Verge, have discovered that an enormous number of articles are nearly identical to those on Wikipedia.
Pages like those for the PlayStation 5 or the MacBook Air are a clear example of copy-pasting. Grokipedia limits itself to inserting a generic note at the bottom of the page that reads: “Content is adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license.”
This approach not only raises doubts about the transparency of its sources but also contradicts the project’s fundamental mission to offer an independent alternative to the free encyclopedia.
Content Controversy: “Truth” or Points of View?
Grok’s promise of neutrality and fact-checking is also being called into question by an analysis of its content on sensitive topics. The “truth” promoted by Grokipedia often seems to align perfectly with Elon Musk’s personal opinions.
- Global Warming: The entry on climate change tends to downplay the scientific consensus on its anthropogenic (human) cause, while also accusing organizations like Greenpeace of spreading “alarmism.”
- Tech Figures: There is no page dedicated to Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI and Musk’s rival. Instead, there is a specific article about his controversial (and temporary) “removal” from the company.
- Elon Musk: Conversely, Musk’s own biography is one of the longest and most detailed in the encyclopedia (around 11,000 words), even including a paragraph dedicated to his diet and weight loss.
The “Encyclopedia War” Has Begun
Musk defended the project on X (formerly Twitter), claiming that version 0.1 of Grokipedia is “already better than Wikipedia.” On the other hand, Jimmy Wales, co-founder of Wikipedia, has repeatedly rejected Musk’s accusations of partiality, defending his platform’s collaborative editorial model.
The launch of Grokipedia marks not only the birth of a new tool but the beginning of an ideological battle: on one side, the algorithmic and centralized model of xAI, and on the other, the collaborative and decentralized model of the Wikimedia Foundation.
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