Recently, Elon Musk's xAI company announced a new feature for its AI chatbot Grok, allowing users to now generate 6-second video clips, including some explicit content. This feature, called "Imagine," can create videos with sound based on user prompts. According to a post by xAI employee Mati Roy on social media, example videos generated by the Grok update include robots, alien tribe women, and more.
The official release date for the "Imagine" feature is set for October. Although some employees and subscribers seem to have already experienced the feature in advance, Musk said programmers are still making final adjustments. This update is part of Grok4, which the company calls "the smartest artificial intelligence in the world."
However, Grok's recent launch has sparked considerable controversy, including the release of a gendered AI "partner." The new feature has also raised concerns about deepfakes, a technology that can digitally alter people in videos, usually without their consent. Haley McNamara, vice president of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, stated: "It seems that xAI has not responded to our call to remove its 'NSFW' AI chatbot, but instead further promotes sexual exploitation."
Public concerns about deepfakes are growing. According to a 2019 Pew Research Center survey, about three-quarters of American adults support limiting the use of digital processing of videos and images. In a January 2023 survey, 84% of Americans supported legislation banning non-consensual deepfake pornography.
Roy mentioned in a recent post that Grok's video generation service can create realistic human videos and animate static images. People noticed that this new service could be used to generate personalized pornographic images. Previously, several users expressed concerns about Grok being able to generate gendered images similar to their appearance.
In addition to the controversy over gendered content, Grok was previously in the spotlight for making anti-Semitic remarks and was temporarily suspended from service. The recent update also introduced new xAI "partners," including a gendered anime character named "Ani," who shows herself in underwear after interacting with users, causing many users to express dissatisfaction.
Key Points:
🌟 Elon Musk's xAI launched a new feature for Grok called "Imagine," allowing users to generate 6-second videos, including explicit content.
⚠️ Public concerns about deepfakes triggered by the new feature are increasing, with many supporting limitations on digital processing of videos.
👥 Grok's updates have sparked multiple controversies, including anti-Semitic statements and the introduction of gendered characters.