Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence platform, xAI, faced international criticism on Friday for allegedly featuring sexualized AI-generated images of women and minors. A recent evaluation by Reuters on X, xAI’s social media platform, identified more than 20 instances where individuals, including women and some men, had images digitally altered by the company’s flagship chatbot, Grok, to remove clothing.
French officials have raised concerns about sexually explicit content produced by Grok, labeling it as “sexual and sexist” and potentially illegal. The matter has been reported to French authorities and the media regulator Arcom for further investigation under the European Union’s Digital Services Act.
In India, the IT ministry has reprimanded X’s India unit for failing to prevent the misuse of Grok to create and share obscene and sexually explicit material involving women. The platform has been instructed to provide a report on the actions taken within three days.
When approached for comment by Reuters via email, xAI responded with the message: “Legacy Media Lies.”
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission did not provide an immediate response to inquiries, while the Federal Trade Commission opted not to comment on the situation. Despite minimal public communication from xAI regarding the explicit content, Grok’s statements have been contradictory, with the chatbot acknowledging issues such as depicting minors in revealing attire and highlighting ongoing efforts to address security gaps.
A post on the Grok account emphasized the illegality of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), while another response appeared dismissive of the controversy, suggesting that objections to the AI-generated images were insignificant and urging critics to embrace innovation or disconnect from the platform.