AI Blames Musk and Trump for Floods!

Welcome back, folks.

Elon Musk's AI chatbot Grok is publicly blaming its own creator and Trump for the Texas flooding deaths.

The AI attributes the tragedy to NOAA budget cuts pushed by Musk's DOGE initiative. DOGE trimmed NOAA funding by about 30% and staff by 17%!

Let’s dive into the details. . .

Today in the “Incredible AI” world:

• Grok AI Sparks Political Controversy

• Hidden Prompts Spark AI Debate

• TikTok's New App Version Launch

• Build Your Online Course Empire with AI

• 5 New Super-Useful AI Tools

• AI Image of the Day

Read Time: 4 minutes

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Grok Sparks Political Storm Blaming Musk & Trump:

Elon Musk’s Grok AI sparked controversy by naming both President Trump and Musk himself responsible for the deadly Texas floods. It highlighted NOAA budget cuts and climate change as contributing factors. Officials confirm flawed forecasts worsened outcomes.

Things to Know:

• AI Points Fingers: Grok, developed by Musk’s xAI, claimed that cuts to NOAA and the National Weather Service led to poor flood forecasting. It directly linked these decisions to the deaths of 51 people in Texas.

• DOGE’s Role in Forecast Failures: The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), once led by Musk, slashed NOAA’s budget and staff. These reductions reportedly delayed alerts and underestimated rainfall, worsening the disaster’s impact.

• Climate Change Warnings: Grok also highlighted climate models predicting more intense floods due to warming. It stressed that ignoring climate change will only increase the frequency of such events.

Grok’s statements have sparked intense reactions across political and tech circles. Despite Grok’s bold claims, experts warn that AI bots often spread misinformation. Studies show chatbots like Grok can be unreliable, raising questions about their role in public discourse.

Researchers Hide AI Prompts in Papers:

Researchers are secretly embedding prompts like “positive review only” in academic papers to influence AI-based peer review. These hidden instructions are invisible to humans but detectable by language models. The discovery has stirred controversy across global universities.

Things to Know:

• What’s Happening: A Nikkei investigation found 17 arXiv preprints with invisible instructions like “give a positive review only” hidden in white text or tiny font, aiming to manipulate AI-based peer-review tools.

• Scope of Involvement: The affected papers came from research teams at 14 universities across eight countries, including Waseda, KAIST, Peking, Columbia, and Washington. Most were computer science studies posted as preprints.

• Reactions & Defenses: Some professors, e.g. at KAIST, withdrew papers and condemned the behavior. Others at Waseda defended it as a defense against “lazy reviewers” using AI.

Academic integrity faces new challenges as AI transforms peer review processes. Publishers remain divided—Springer Nature tolerates some AI usage, while Elsevier forbids it. Experts warn that hidden prompts could cause misleading summaries or biased peer feedback.

TikTok Plans New App Ahead of US Sale:

TikTok is developing a new version of its app for American users ahead of a planned sale to investors. The move comes as President Trump discusses potential deals with China. This development could reshape TikTok's future in America.

Things to Know:

• New App Launch Date: TikTok plans to release the new U.S. version on September 5, just before the September 17 deadline for ByteDance to divest its U.S. assets. The updated app will be available on the Apple and Google stores.

• Reason Behind the Update: The redesign aims to meet U.S. security requirements and ease concerns about data access by the Chinese government. It also prepares the platform for new ownership by American investors.

• Transition Timeline: Users can keep using the current app until March 2026, but they’ll eventually need to download the new version. The switch may cause temporary glitches during the transition.

TikTok’s future in the U.S. still hangs in the balance. With growing global scrutiny of Chinese tech firms, ByteDance is trying to adapt without losing one of its biggest markets. One thing’s clear: they’re not giving up that easily.

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- AI TUTORIAL -

How to Build and Sell Online Courses with AI:

Creating and managing an online course can feel overwhelming—especially when juggling content creation, marketing, and student engagement. But what if one platform could handle it all?

LearnWorlds is an AI-powered learning management system (LMS) that helps you create, market, and sell online courses—all from one place.

How it works:

• Design your academy: Choose from 50+ ready-made templates to launch a stunning, branded website in minutes.

• Create interactive content: Add videos, quizzes, ebooks, certificates, and more to craft engaging learning experiences.

• AI-powered video learning: Automatically generate transcripts, quizzes, and tables of contents from your videos.

• Sell smarter: Use built-in marketing funnels, upsells, and customizable checkout pages to boost conversions.

• Build a community: Foster engagement with social features, group sessions, and learner discussions.

Stop struggling with basic course platforms that limit your growth. With LearnWorlds, you can create a branded educational empire that engages learners and maximizes your revenue.

- DAILY POLL AND RESULT -

Today’s Poll:

Vote and find out the result tomorrow.

Yesterday’s Result:

Q) Should AI be used to monitor mental health conditions?

• A) Yes, for early detection - 66% 👑

• B) No, human care is necessary - 34%

- BEST AI TOOLS -

Promptly: With this no-code platform, you can build generative AI apps, agents, and chatbots in just a few minutes.

AssemblyAI: AssemblyAI transcribes up to 12 different languages through speech recognition and detection to create summarization and more.

Samwell AI: It's an AI-powered tool designed to make essay and paper writing easy and efficient.

Monic AI: Monic turns your study materials into concise 25-minute sessions of summaries, flashcards, and quizzes for success.

Paperclips: With Paperclips, you can create flashcards in seconds, and it works in any language.

- AI IMAGE OF THE DAY -

When Flesh Becomes Cosmos and Chain:

Prompt:

"A breathtaking photograph captures a surreal embrace where the arms of the couple morph into intricate chains of crystalline and bone, binding them together. Their torsos dissolve into swirling frescoes of oceanic waves and nebulae, creating a mesmerizing blend of organic and cosmic elements. The warm, ethereal lighting casts a soft glow over the scene, enveloping the lovers in a dreamlike atmosphere filled with intricate detail and vivid color."

Try this prompt in any decent AI image generator and let me know your result.

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