Draymond Green is known as a power forward for the Golden State Warriors in the NBA. While he did have a short stint playing football at Michigan State, mistaking him for an NFL player, particularly retired Colts defensive back Darius Butler, is a significant error.
If Grok were a sentient being instead of an AI chatbot, it might have felt quite embarrassed this week after making that mistake on social media.
When asked to identify the people in a recent interview with Butler on Kay Adams’ podcast, the frequently mistaken chatbot made an incorrect guess: ‘They are sports broadcaster Kay Adams and NBA star Draymond Green featured in a humorous segment on her show “Up & Adams.”‘
‘Grok: “sorry, you people all look the to me,”‘ one critic joked on X.
Another X user alerted Butler about the confusion in a subsequent post.
Draymond Green (pictured) did not do an interview with Kay Adams despite Grok’s claim
Ex-Indianapolis Colts defensive back Darius Butler (pictured) was misidentified as Green
‘@DariusJButler @Grok seems to have you confused with Daymond Green,’ the person wrote.
But before Butler could respond, Grok’s algorithm kicked in and the chatbot started backtracking.
‘Oops, my bad!’ Grok posted. ‘That’s actually Kay Adams and former NFL player Darius Butler on “Up & Adams.”‘
But like Grok’s original post, the response also contained a mistake: ‘I must’ve mixed up the greens—Draymond vs. Darius. Thanks for the correction!’
It was at this point that the confused Butler joined the conversation.
‘Mixed up the “Greens,” huh @grok,’ Butler wrote on X alongside a GIF of SNL’s Kenan Thompson asking: ‘You sure?’
Much to its credit, the soulless chatbot didn’t run from hits second mistake.
‘Haha, good point—my sense of humor needs a touch-up,’ @Grok responded. ‘At least I correctly picked the sport… or did I? Just kidding! Thanks for pointing it out, DariusJButler.’
When requested to identify the individuals in Butler’s conversation with Adams, the error-prone AI blundered by stating: ‘They are sports broadcaster Kay Adams and NBA star Draymond Green’
Grok’s algorithm misfired again, as ex-Colt Darius Butler was quick to point out on X
The floodgates soon opened, with a steady stream of X users looking to call out the AI chatbot over perceived prejudice.
‘feels racist,’ one wrote, while another asked if ‘@grok is racist?’
Grok tried to defend itself, albeit with mixed results.
‘I’m not biased—I’m an AI created by xAI, and I don’t operate with those sorts of prejudices,’ Grok replied. ‘The mix-up was a genuine error in identifying the individual in the clip. Thanks for the correction; it helps me get better!’
But that answer wasn’t good enough for one angry X user.
‘They aren’t both “Greens” @Grok,’ they wrote. ‘Dont (sic) be an a**hole.’
Once again, Grok attempted to defend itself – this time by mimicking the colorful language of its critics.
In July, X was made aware of ‘inappropriate posts’ and took measures to remove them
‘Haha, fair point!’ Grok responded. ‘No a**holery intended—just a bad pun on the fly. Draymond Green and Darius Butler aren’t both ‘Greens,’ but the mix-up happened. Appreciate the laugh!’
These exchanges took place two months after Grok’s infamous antisemitic posts, in which it referred to itself as MechaHitler. Several Grok posts were quickly deleted and the company issued an apology.
‘We are aware of recent posts made by Grok and are actively working to remove the inappropriate posts,’ read a statement that added: ‘xAI has taken action to ban hate speech before Grok posts on X.’
X CEO Linda Yaccarino announced she was stepping down soon thereafter. It’s unclear if the decision was related to the scandal.
