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Elon Musk, X warn of ‘consequences’ after uproar over Grok 'undressing' spree
Grok faced backlash and threats from governments around the world after it created sexualized images, including of minors, on X in response to user prompts.
Following uproar over the mass digital undressing spree on Elon Musk-owned chatbot Grok over the past few days, the billionaire issued a stern warning saying that people using the AI chatbot to make illegal content will face the same consequences as those uploading illegal content.
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"Anyone using Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content," Musk said on X in response to a post on "inappropriate images".
X's official safety team account also relayed the warning and said, “We take against illegal content on X, including Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), by removing it, permanently suspending accounts, and working with local governments and law enforcement as necessary.
Prior to the stern warning, Musk on Friday appeared to poke fun at the controversy as he posted laugh-cry emojis in response to AI edits of famous people, including himself, in bikinis.
One of the targets of the undressing spree on Grok, Julie Yukari, spoke to news agency Reuters and narrated how her photograph shared on New Year's Eve was morphed and sexualised using Grok after she posted it on X. A Rio de Janeiro-based musician, Yukari, shared the photo wearing a red dress, curled up in bed with her black cat, Nori.
By the following day, amid the hundreds of likes the post had received, Yukari noticed notifications indicating that some users were prompting Grok to alter the image by digitally undressing her and placing her in a bikini.
Uproar over ‘undressing spree’
Grok came under backlash and faced threats of government action around the world, including India, after the it created sexualised images, including of minors, on the social media platform X in response to user prompts. India's Ministry of Electronics and IT directed Musk-owned X to immediately remove all vulgar, obscene and unlawful content, especially generated by AI app Grok, or face action under the law.
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The offending images being created by prompts on X are an apparent violation of the microblogging website's acceptable-use policy itself, which prohibits the sexualization of children. Some of the pictures images have been taken down, according to reports.
The digital undressing spree had been going on for the last weeks but apparently intensified around Christmas as an increasing number of users on X apparently requested Grok to create images and to morph photographs of women and children in a sexual context.
