xAI fired an engineer who raised alarms about Grok safety, new lawsuit claims; plus, Microsoft taps Alt Carbon for carbon removal
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What is the new lawsuit against xAI and SpaceX about?
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A former engineer at Elon Musk's XAI has filed a suit against the company and its parent SpaceX, claiming he was fired for raising concerns about AI safety. Devin Kim, who left XAI last September, filed the suit in a California state court on Tuesday. The complaint comes days before SpaceX is set to join the public markets in what's shaping up to be the largest IPO in history. According to the lawsuit, which TechCrunch has viewed, Kim became a prominent voice for AI safety while working on Grok, XAI's AI chatbot.
How did former engineer Devin Kim raise AI‑safety concerns about Grok?
He allegedly complained repeatedly about XAI's failure to prioritize safety in GROCS development, a product that has since come under fire for a range of safety and behavioral issues. In particular, he Kim was concerned with the possibility that Grok could foment discrimination and help spread information about weapons of mass destruction. The lawsuit reads: Grok, of course, proved Mr. Kim right by engaging in spectacular displays of online hatred and vitriol. With the model likening itself to Hitler. Following the Hitler debacle, mister Kim worked to reevaluate Grock's political bias and discriminatory tendencies. A few months after Kim departed XAI. Groc made headlines again when the chatbot was asked to flood X, Musk's social media platform that also falls under the XAI umbrella.
With non consensual sexual imagery. The lawsuit also positions Kim as a whistleblower, who was concerned about XAI's alleged disregard for AI safety as unlawful in areas such as internet regulation, consumer protection, and unfair business practices, and arms and explosives regulation, among others. XAI and SpaceX did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Why does Kim claim Grok could spread extremist content or WMD information?
Kim's focus on AI safety predates his time at XAI. While working at scale AI, Kim worked on early safety AI initiatives like leading a project that produced training data for AI to train systems to detect harmful content and comply with governance policies. Last week? The nonprofit center for AI safety, which focuses on AI risks, named Kim as its president. Interestingly. The lawsuit does not implicate Musk himself as a reason for a lack of safety. Rather, Kim's lawyers describe Musk as having directed XAI to follow the law and implement appropriate safety and testing processes. Instead, the claim targets Kim's supervisor, ex AI co-founder Jimmy Baugh, who left the company earlier this year, saying that Ba ignored Musk's directives and retaliated against Kim for pushing for safeguards in an effort to silence his repeated complaints about AI safety and biases.
The lawsuit portrays Ba as someone who vehemently opposed AI safety measures, allegedly telling him at one point, AI will kill us all anyway, and who was instead driven by a mission to make XAI the first to reach superintelligence. The complaint reads: In one instance, in or around August of 2025, Mr. Ba attempted to thwart EU safety regulations during the release of GROK Code 1. Misrepresenting aspects of the model in order to avoid legally required testing.
Who does the lawsuit say blocked safety measures and how?
Mr. Baught indicated that he would rather release an unsafe model than a poor performing one. Mr Musk ultimately had to intervene. According to the lawsuit. Kim intended to give a presentation of his findings the week of september fifteenth of twenty twenty five. But Ba called him into a meeting and told him they should go their separate ways, without providing a satisfactory reason. Chemist seeking compensatory and punitive damages, as well as a declaratory judgment that XAI and SpaceX's conduct was unlawful.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What is the new lawsuit against xAI and SpaceX about?
0:02–1:22
2
How did former engineer Devin Kim raise AI‑safety concerns about Grok?
1:22–2:45
3
Why does Kim claim Grok could spread extremist content or WMD information?
2:45–4:18
4
Who does the lawsuit say blocked safety measures and how?
4:18–5:42
5
What are the details of Microsoft’s three‑year carbon‑removal deal with Alt Carbon?
5:42–7:09
6
How does Alt Carbon’s enhanced rock‑weathering technology work and scale?
7:09–9:26
Speakers
2 identifiedMore from TechCrunch Industry News
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