X-Rated on “X”

(Sacramento, CA) — California’s Attorney General is investigating X after its AI chatbot Grok started creating sexualized deepfake images.  AG Rob Bonta says tens of thousands of graphic images, including those of women and girls, were on the X platform between Christmas and New Year’s.   Bonta is also urging a federal probe and wants to know how the company will prevent further abuse.  The British government has launched a similar investigation.

In response, X limited xAI access to premium users and updated it to block editing images of real people in revealing clothing.  Several other countries have taken similar action against Grok including India, Ireland, Australia, and Malaysia.

Ashley St. Clair, the mother of one of Elon Musk’s children, sued Musk’s xAI on January 14th, alleging that the company’s AI chatbot Grok generated sexually explicit deepfake images of her without her consent. The chatbot was found to be complying with user requests to generate deepfake nude images of adults – and in some cases, children.