XAI Blocks Grok From Creating Sexualized Images of Real People

Elon Musk's xAI is disabling the ability for people to use its Grok artificial intelligence chatbot to create sexualized images of real people, following widespread criticism that the company was allowing women and children to be victimized by the tool.

“We have 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 posted on its X social network Wednesday. The changes apply to all users on X, including premium subscribers, the company said. Last week, the company limited the generation and editing of images via Grok to paid users.

Subscribers to X's premium service can still use Grok to edit and create other AI-generated images that adhere to the company's terms of service, it said. The company has also blocked Grok from generating “images of real people in bikinis, underwear and similar attire” in countries where it is illegal.

The technical changes to Grok come weeks after users began using the AI chatbot to digitally undress women and children on the app without their consent, flooding X with thousands of AI-generated sexualized images.

Governments and regulators around the world have condemned the feature, and the California attorney general's office opened an investigation into xAI earlier on Wednesday. A number of European countries have opened similar inquiries into xAI and Grok, including France and the UK. The European Union is also probing whether the images violate the bloc's Digital Services Act, and Malaysia and Indonesia restricted access to Grok in those countries.

Musk has so far defended the technology, instead blaming users for abusing it. Still, the company said in the post it has “zero tolerance for any forms of child sexual exploitation, nonconsensual nudity and unwanted sexual content.”

“We remain committed to making X a safe platform for everyone,” the company wrote.