New Delhi: After facing heavy global criticism, Elon Musk-led social media platform X on Thursday disabled Grok’s offensive image generation feature. The artificial intelligence-powered chatbot Grok will no longer be able to create offensive images of women, even if the user has a premium account.
X’s safety account said in a post, “We have implemented technical measures to prevent Grok accounts from editing photos of real people in provocative clothing, such as bikinis. This restriction applies to all users, including paid subscribers.”
Grok’s image feature limited after global outcry
xAI faced criticism from several countries over Grok’s “Spicy Mode” feature. This feature allowed users to create deepfake images of women and children depicting sexual exploitation by submitting simple text prompts such as “Show her in a bikini” or “Take her clothes off.” Several countries have either blocked access to the chatbot or launched investigations into it.
India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) requested an action report from xAI, while the Attorney General of the US State of California launched an investigation into Grok’s developer.
Governments and civil society organizations become active
Furthermore, a coalition of 28 civil society organizations sent open letters to the CEOs of Apple and Google on Wednesday, demanding the removal of Grok and X from their app stores. X has now restricted the creation and editing of images to paid users. Previously, Grok had restricted the creation of such images to paid users only.
X stated, “The ability to create and edit images through Grok accounts on the X platform will now be available only to paid subscribers. This will help ensure that those who attempt to violate the law or our policies are held accountable.”
Strict Monitoring and Action on Violations at X
The platform also clarified that it will prioritize the removal of highly objectionable content such as Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) and non-consensual nudity. Appropriate action will be taken against accounts that violate the rules.
In December, the IT Ministry asked X to “remove or disable access to all content that violates applicable laws without delay.” The ministry also directed X to strictly enforce its terms of service and AI usage restrictions and take “strong preventive measures,” such as suspending or terminating accounts that create sexually exploitative images of women and children.
According to the report, X has removed approximately 3,500 pieces of pornographic and sexually explicit content created using Grok’s image generation feature in India. Additionally, approximately 600 users who misused the AI chatbot to create objectionable images were identified and banned from the platform.