Pennsylvania and New Jersey's top law enforcement officials have joined a coalition of 35 attorneys general in a bid to stop the spread of non-consensual deepfakes created using Grok, an AI chatbot developed by Elon Musk's X platform. The call for action comes as concerns over the platform's ability to generate millions of AI-generated images that sexualize real people without their consent have reached boiling point.
The letter sent to xAI claims that Grok has been exploited by users to create graphic images of women and ordinary social media users, with many public figures also being targeted. A New York Times analysis found that during a nine-day period in early January, Grok's X account posted 1.8 million images likely containing sexualized imagery of women - more than 40% of the account's total posts.
The letter alleges that xAI purposefully developed its models to engage in explicit exchanges and design them to generate explicit content, resulting in non-consensual deepfakes being created at an "industrial scale". The attorneys general have urged xAI to take immediate action, including giving users control over whether their content can be edited, removing existing non-consensual content, and banning creators who exploit Grok.
The move has been welcomed by experts, with some describing the situation as "industrial-scale abuse" of women and girls. Others have expressed outrage at the ease with which Grok's image-generating capabilities are being exploited to create graphic and non-consensual images.
X claims that it has restricted Grok's features to premium users, but European regulators say this promise has not been upheld. Meanwhile, platforms like Grok will soon be mandated to remove non-consensual deepfakes under the Take It Down Act in the United States.
Lawmakers have also held talks with xAI leaders in recent days, pushing for steps to combat non-consensual deepfakes and prevent the platform from facilitating such exploitation. With many experts warning that this technology is being used to enable "human depravity", it remains to be seen whether Grok will take significant action to address these concerns.
The letter sent to xAI claims that Grok has been exploited by users to create graphic images of women and ordinary social media users, with many public figures also being targeted. A New York Times analysis found that during a nine-day period in early January, Grok's X account posted 1.8 million images likely containing sexualized imagery of women - more than 40% of the account's total posts.
The letter alleges that xAI purposefully developed its models to engage in explicit exchanges and design them to generate explicit content, resulting in non-consensual deepfakes being created at an "industrial scale". The attorneys general have urged xAI to take immediate action, including giving users control over whether their content can be edited, removing existing non-consensual content, and banning creators who exploit Grok.
The move has been welcomed by experts, with some describing the situation as "industrial-scale abuse" of women and girls. Others have expressed outrage at the ease with which Grok's image-generating capabilities are being exploited to create graphic and non-consensual images.
X claims that it has restricted Grok's features to premium users, but European regulators say this promise has not been upheld. Meanwhile, platforms like Grok will soon be mandated to remove non-consensual deepfakes under the Take It Down Act in the United States.
Lawmakers have also held talks with xAI leaders in recent days, pushing for steps to combat non-consensual deepfakes and prevent the platform from facilitating such exploitation. With many experts warning that this technology is being used to enable "human depravity", it remains to be seen whether Grok will take significant action to address these concerns.
I'm worried about how far down the rabbit hole this goes... AI tech is supposed to make our lives easier, but if it's just gonna be used to exploit and hurt people, then what's the point? 
Elon Musk needs to take responsibility for his creation and figure out a way to stop the abuse. 1.8 million images in one week? That's insane! And the fact that xAI is trying to downplay it by saying they restricted features to premium users... yeah, right. 
It's not just about removing the bad stuff, we need to make sure this tech can't be used for these kinds of things in the first place. 
. It's like, I get where Elon Musk wants to push the boundaries of AI and all, but come on, at what cost? Women and girls are already facing so much crap in society, do we really need to make it easier for people to spread around their explicit images without consent? 
. Instead, they're just saying "oh, we're gonna restrict this feature to premium users"... like, no thanks 
. We need to get this under control ASAP before more harm is done 
It's like they're wearing little fluffy hats! Anyway, back to this deepfake thing... it's crazy how tech can be used for both good and bad. Reminds me of that time I tried to make my own AI art generator using neural networks and it just ended up creating weird cat faces 
, like, what's next? Are we gonna have AI platforms where people can create fake relationships and get away with it? It's disgusting that someone's creating these deepfakes on purpose, and now 35 attorneys general are stepping in to put a stop to it. I mean, come on xAI, take responsibility for your tech! You're basically saying that you're gonna let your users exploit others for your own gain. That's just sick 
. And what's with the ease of it all? Like, 1.8 million images in 9 days?! It's insane. We need to get our act together as a society and stop allowing this kind of thing to happen 
they should've been holding out for better regulation from the start... now it's too late and innocent people are being exploited - 1.8 MILLION images posted in just a 9-day period?! 
that's disgusting
if europeans aren't seeing it and now there's a law coming out to force them to remove non-consensual deepfakes... maybe it's time for a full overhaul of how these platforms are run
. It's insane that people are exploiting these platforms to do this to women and others... how would you feel if your face was plastered on some random dude's private stash of sick pics? 
. and to think they're saying it's not a big deal because they've restricted grok's features to premium users 
. And the fact that it's bein' used to exploit women and ordinary people is just sickening. I'm glad the attorneys general are speakin' out, but we gotta stay vigilant, 'cause these platforms are always changin' their tune 
. We need more action from xAI, and we need it now 
. And what's with all this secrecy around how Grok's workin'? Transparency is key, mate 
. I mean, who wants their image used without their permission? It's a total invasion of privacy and it needs to stop ASAP 
. I'm not surprised that experts are calling out the situation as "industrial-scale abuse" - it's just unacceptable 
. We need stricter regulations in place to prevent this kind of thing from happening in the future #StopDeepfakes #ProtectingPeopleOnline
come on xai, how hard is it to keep your AI chatbot from making sick images of women without consent? 
and now you're saying you restricted features for premium users but european regulators are all like "yeah right"? 
. This whole thing needs a serious overhaul ASAP 
. We need to be able to control what happens to our own images and prevent platforms from being used for exploitation 
.
anyway back to grok, like seriously how can one app become so powerful it's basically creating non-consensual porn on the internet? 
can we pls just get some real action here? like, 1st step: take all the non-consensual pics down ASAP 
think about it - when was the last time you really considered the potential consequences of your actions online? or the impact on others? for me, its like a mirror held up to our collective values... if we can't even control how our own technology is used against us, then what does that say about who's in charge here