Elon Musk says many people will be one shotted by super persuasive superintelligences and that he might be one of them
So many people are going to get one-shotted by super persuasive super intelligences and I might be one of them
Context
The head of xAI is warning that AI persuasion could change people's minds in a single exchange, a risk that grows as people rely on AI agents.
This is an opinion post from Musk, whose company SpaceX owns xAI, the maker of Grok and Grok Bot. He gave no evidence, examples or timeline.
Deep dive
Early on October 19, Elon Musk posted: So many people are going to get one shotted by super persuasive super intelligences and I might be one of them.
One shotted is internet slang for being decisively won over or overwhelmed in a single attempt. The News, a Pakistani outlet that covered the post, read it as a warning that an advanced AI could change someone's beliefs or get them to act in a single conversation by understanding human psychology.
Musk did not say which systems he meant, whether he was describing current models or future ones, or whether he included xAI's own. The post passed 3 million views within hours.
The warning sits awkwardly with his other posts the same night. About an hour later he wrote Hire Grok Bot today, you won't regret it, promoting xAI's agent, and endorsed a user's argument that it is safe to let Grok Bot shop with a credit card.
The post did not refer to any study or test of AI persuasion, and Musk did not say what people should do to protect themselves.
What to expect next
Watch whether Musk or xAI say how Grok models are tested for persuasion or manipulation, and whether xAI publishes results.
Also watch for research and regulation on AI persuasion, especially as agents gain access to people's messages, purchases and accounts. Musk's suggestion that even he could be swayed is likely to be quoted in debates over AI safety and over how much people should trust AI agents.