BANGKOK (AP) — Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok won’t be able to edit photos to portray real people in revealing clothing in places where that is illegal, according to a statement posted on X.
The announcement late Wednesday followed a global backlash over sexualized images of women and children, including bans and warnings by some governments.
The pushback included an investigation announced Wednesday by the state of California into the proliferation of nonconsensual sexually explicit material produced using Grok.
Initially, media queries about the problem drew only the response, “legacy media lies.”
Musk’s company, xAI, now says it will geoblock content if it violates laws in a particular place.
“We have implemented technological measures to prevent the Grok account from allowing the editing of images of real people in revealing clothing such as bikinis, underwear and other revealing attire,” it said.
The rule applies to all users, including paid subscribers, who have access to more features.
xAI also has limited image creation or editing to paid subscribers only “to ensure that individuals who attempt to abuse the Grok account to violate the law or our policies can be held accountable.”
Grok’s “spicy mode” had allowed users to create explicit content, leading to a backlash from governments worldwide.
Malaysia and Indonesia took legal action and blocked access to Grok. The U.K. and European Union were investigating potential violations of online safety laws. France and India have also issued warnings, demanding stricter controls. Brazil called for an investigation into Grok’s misuse.
The Grok editing functions were “facilitating the large-scale production of deepfake nonconsensual intimate images that are being used to harass women and girls across the internet, including via the social media platform X,” California's announcement said.
“I urge xAI to take immediate action to ensure this goes no further,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said. “We have zero tolerance for the AI-based creation and dissemination of nonconsensual intimate images or of child sexual abuse material.”
California has passed laws to shield minors from AI-generated sexual imagery of children and require AI chatbot platforms to remind users they aren’t interacting with a human.
But Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom also vetoed a law last year that would have restricted children’s access to AI chatbots.
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cube_corner said:
cube_corner said:
Letters to the Editor like this give me total conviction that President Trump has (temporarily) saved the country from rule by lunatics.
cube_corner said:
Why is the San Mateo Daily journal posting a one sentence article about Greenland?
cube_corner said:
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