Following reports of people using X’s AI tool Grok to create dehumanising content, including images of undressed women and sexualised images of children, the undressing feature has been removed for the vast majority of users.
Grok has switched off its image creation function except for paying subscribers, meaning it’s still possible to create sexualised content using Elon Musk’s AI tool.
Posting on X, Grok said: “Image generation and editing are currently limited to paying subscribers”.
That means the vast majority of users of the platform cannot create images using Grok. Those who do have their full details and credit card information stored by X, so can be identified if the function is misused.
Elon Musk later said the UK government wanted “any excuse for censorship” in response to a post questioning why other AI platforms were not being looked at.
Musk has denied any knowledge of “naked underage images” generated by xAI’s Grok, as scrutiny of the AI tool intensified worldwide.
“I not aware of any naked underage images generated by Grok. Literally zero,” Musk said in an X post.
The move comes after Musk was threatened with fines, regulatory action and reports of a possible ban on X in the UK.
The California attorney general has launched an investigation into the output Grok AI, saying it makes it easy to harass women with deepfake images.
Ofcom has also launched an investigation into X. In a statement, the UK watchdog said there had been “deeply concerning reports” of the chatbot being used to create and share undressed images of people, as well as “sexualised images of children”.
If found to have broken the law, Ofcom can potentially issue X with a fine of up to 10 per cent of its worldwide revenue or £18 million (AUD $36 million), whichever is greater.
The tool had been used to manipulate images of women to remove their clothes and put them in sexualised positions.
X’s UK managing director said publicly that X has a zero-tolerance approach to child sexual exploitation and non-consensual nudity.
X posted to its safety account at the start of January: “Anyone using or prompting Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content”.
Indonesia and Malaysia temporarily blocked X’s chatbot, Grok, over the weekend.
Grok had been generating sexually explicit images of people for some time. But the issue got widespread attention in late December as people used the chatbot to edit a high volume of existing images by tagging the bot in comments and giving it prompts such as “put her in a bikini.”
While Grok did not respond to all of the requests, it obliged in many cases.
