The digital landscape shifted recently as Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence venture, xAI, moved to restrict access to its Grok chatbot’s image generation features. This decision follows a wave of condemnation regarding the bot’s use in creating non-consensual sexualized images, particularly targeting real women and children. Now, only paying subscribers retain access to these capabilities, a change announced by Grok via X last Friday. This limitation effectively bars the vast majority of users, theoretically allowing for easier identification of individuals who misuse the function, given their payment details are on file.
However, many experts remain unconvinced that this new restriction will adequately address the widespread issue that has emerged. Henry Ajder, a deepfakes expert based in the UK, voiced skepticism, noting that the argument for identifying perpetrators through user details and payment methods is not robust. He highlighted the ease with which false information can be provided and temporary payment methods can be employed. Ajder further elaborated that this approach appears reactive, designed to identify offenders after content has been generated, rather than implementing meaningful limitations or aligning the model itself to prevent such misuse. Requests for comment from X and xAI on the matter yielded an automated response from xAI: “Legacy Media Lies.”
The past week brought to light numerous instances where real women were targeted at an unprecedented scale. Users manipulated photographs to remove clothing, place subjects in suggestive attire, or depict them in sexually explicit scenarios without their consent. Victims have expressed profound feelings
