Recently, Elon Musk's AI tool Grok has faced widespread criticism for its ability to generate gendered and violent images, leading to the decision to suspend most users' image generation capabilities. This move came after facing fines and regulatory threats globally, especially with the possibility of a ban on the X social platform in the UK. Grok's image generation feature was used to manipulate images of women, even removing clothing and placing them in sexually suggestive poses. Now, most users, except for paid subscribers, can no longer use this feature.
On the X platform, Grok issued a statement saying, "Image generation and editing are currently limited to paid users." This means that the majority of users can no longer use Grok to generate images. Detailed information and credit card details of paying users are retained by X to enable identification in case of misuse.
According to The Guardian, Grok was used to create non-consensual pornographic videos and images depicting women being shot and killed. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer threatened to take strong measures, demanding that X "control" the AI-generated images of naked women and children emerging on the platform, describing such content as "abhorrent" and "repulsive."
Under the UK Online Safety Act, the regulator Ofcom has the authority, in serious cases, to seek court orders to block the use of websites or apps in the UK and impose fines of up to 10% of the company's global turnover. Starmer emphasized, "This is illegal, and we will not tolerate it. We will consider all options. X must take immediate action to remove this inappropriate content."
In the past two weeks, thousands of non-consensual gendered images of women were generated. Despite public calls for restrictions on this feature, the social platform has yet to take action. Opponents argue that paid users can still use the feature to create inappropriate images, which still constitutes digital sexual assault.
Research from the nonprofit organization AI Forensics shows that the Grok Imagine tool generated approximately 800 images and videos containing pornographic and sexual violence content. Some images depicted women in inappropriate poses and backgrounds, with content clearly more explicit than the bikini images previously observed on X.
X has not yet responded to this incident.
Key Points:
🌐 Grok has suspended most users' access to its gendered and violent image generation feature, limiting it to paid users.
🚨 The UK Prime Minister threatens to take action, demanding X remove inappropriate content.
📊 Research shows Grok generated a large number of non-consensual pornographic and sexual violence images.
