@Grok Falsely Links CentraCare Physician to Minnesota Lawmaker Shooting Suspect

(KNSI) — An artificial intelligence chatbot has falsely linked a doctor with CentraCare to the suspect accused in the fatal shootings of a Minnesota lawmaker and her husband.

A statement from CentraCare was sent out to correct the information floating around on social media that was posted by Grok linking Dr. Jennifer Boelter to 57-year-old Vance Boelter, who is accused of murdering Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, in their Brooklyn Park home early Saturday morning. He is also accused of shooting Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, in their Champlin home. They are both expected to survive.

Officials say Dr. Jennifer Boelter is a respected physician, and neither she nor her husband, Dr. Chris Boelter, has any connection whatsoever to Mr. Boelter. The shared name is purely coincidental.

The healthcare system says the misinformation originated from an inaccurate social media post and has caused unnecessary distress to the doctors and their families, and they have reported the false information to the appropriate platforms.

Since it’s an integrated platform, Grok has real-time access to information from X (formerly Twitter). It is designed to answer questions, engage in conversations, and assist with various tasks, but serious errors, such as the misidentification of doctors, highlight one of the ongoing challenges with AI systems that have broad access to post content online.

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