Topline
Elon Musk’s X announced Wednesday it was restricting its AI chatbot Grok’s image generation tool from generating images of real people in revealing clothing, several weeks after it came under fire for generating sexualized images of children and non-consensual nudity.
Key Facts
In a post on X’s official Safety account, the platform said it has “implemented technological measures to prevent the Grok account from allowing the editing of images of real people in revealing clothing such as bikinis.”
The company said this restriction will apply to all Grok users, including paying subscribers.
The company also said it was restricting “image creation and the ability to edit images” via the Grok account to paid subscribers only.
However, the ability to generate images remained accessible to free users on Grok’s website at the time of publishing.
The company also added that it was geoblocking all users from generating “images of real people in bikinis, underwear, and similar attire via the Grok account and in Grok in X in those jurisdictions where it’s illegal.”
The statement did not specify which countries would be impacted by the geoblock.
Has Grok Stopped Generating And Editing Sexualized Images?
A search of Grok’s recent timeline showed at least one instance where it adhered to a request from at least one user to alter an image of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, replacing his suit with a bikini. The Verge also reported that it was still “extremely easy to undress women and edit them into sexualized poses using the X and Grok mobile apps or websites.” A reporter from the outlet based in the UK noted she was not blocked from using the app or “create sexualized deepfakes of herself.”
What Has Elon Musk Said?
Earlier on Wednesday, X owner Elon Musk appeared to question the veracity of reports suggesting X was generating Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) and wrote he was “not aware of any naked underage images generated by Grok. Literally zero.” He added: “Obviously, Grok does not spontaneously generate images, it does so only according to user requests. When asked to generate images, it will refuse to produce anything illegal, as the operating principle for Grok is to obey the laws of any given country or state.” The billionaire then appeared to blame the issue on the platform’s users, saying: “There may be times when adversarial hacking of Grok prompts does something unexpected. If that happens, we fix the bug immediately.”
Crucial Quote
On Wednesday, the British Prime Minister said X is working to comply with British law by blocking the generation of non-consensual sexual images. “We have made clear to X that these images are illegal, reprehensible and need to be dealt with. I have been informed that X is acting to ensure full compliance with UK law. If so, that is welcome, but we’re not going to back down — they must act.”
What To To Watch For?
Earlier on Wednesday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced his office had opened an investigation into X over the “proliferation of nonconsensual sexually explicit material produced using Grok.” The announcement accused Musk’s xAI of “facilitating the large-scale production of deepfake nonconsensual intimate images that are being used to harass women and girls across the internet.” In a statement, Bonta said his office had received “an avalanche of reports” on this matter and the investigation will “determine whether and how xAI violated the law.”
Further Reading
Grok Blames ‘Lapses In Safeguards’ After AI Chatbot Posts Sexual Images Of Children (Forbes)