Grok declines to identify Elon Musk after X post on Epstein Files
A post on social media platform X referring to the Epstein files has triggered online debate after the platform’s AI chatbot Grok declined to identify Elon Musk in an image shared by a user.
The post was published by an X user with the handle @fiftyshadesofwhey, who shared an image allegedly from the Epstein files and claimed that Jeffrey Epstein had taken a photograph at a dinner in 2015 attended by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. The user posted that Epstein took the photograph and forwarded it to himself.
The user then asked Grok to identify Elon Musk from the image. Grok responded saying it couldn't confirm Musk's presence in the photograph and that it had investigated reports on the Epstein files from sites such as the New York Post and the BBC. While a 2015 meal was mentioned in email records, there was no verifiable photograph of Musk attending the event. Grok also said that Musk had denied attending the meal or having close ties with Epstein, and that it was unable to directly verify the referenced document owing to access restrictions, suggesting users to examine official Department of Justice documents.
After the user circled a man in the image who appeared to resemble Musk and reposted it questioning the chatbot. Grok maintained its position saying that a visual assessment did not support identifying Musk in the image. It said the image showed a group of men seated at a dinner table and that one individual on the right appeared to be Mark Zuckerberg. Citing reports from the San Francisco Chronicle, New York Post, and NBC, Grok said that although some emails claimed Musk had attended the dinner, he had denied it and there was no confirmation that he appeared in the photograph.
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Trump says EU has until July 4 to approve last year's trade deal or it will face higher tariffs
Washington (AP): President Donald Trump has said in a social media post that goods from the European Union would face higher tariff rates if the 27-member bloc fails to approve last year's trade framework by July 4.
The announcement on Thursday appeared to be a deadline extension after the president said last Friday that EU autos would face a higher 25 per cent tariff starting this week. Trump made the updated announcement after what he described as a "great call" with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Still, the US president was displeased that the European Parliament had yet to finalize the trade arrangement reached last year, which was further complicated in February by the US Supreme Court ruling that Trump lacked the legal authority to declare an economic emergency to impose the initial tariffs used to pressure the EU into talks.
"A promise was made that the EU would deliver their side of the Deal and, as per Agreement, cut their Tariffs to ZERO!" Trump posted. "I agreed to give her until our Country's 250th Birthday or, unfortunately, their Tariffs would immediately jump to much higher levels."
It was unclear from the post whether Trump was implying that the tariff rates would jump on all EU goods or the increase would only apply to autos.
His latest statement indicates he might be backing away from his earlier threat on EU autos by giving the European Parliament several more weeks to approve the agreement.
Under the original terms of the framework, the US would charge a 15 per cent tax on most goods imported from the EU.
But since the Supreme Court ruling, the administration has levied a 10 per cent tariff while investigating trade imbalances and national security issues, aiming to put in new tariffs to make up for lost revenues.
