Making A.I.’s vile claims and made-up facts even worse is the fact that these chatbots are designed to be liked. They flatter the user in order to encourage continued engagement. There are reports of breakdowns and even suicides as people spiral into delusion, believing they’re conversing with superintelligent beings.

X CEO Linda Yaccarino announced she was stepping down from her position a day after the company’s Grok artificial intelligence chatbot went haywire and began calling itself “MechaHitler.” Yaccarino’s departing message was positive and did not mention Tuesday’s scandal.