Musk still defending Grok’s partial nudes as California AG opens probe

In light of recent developments, California Attorney General Rob Bonta has announced an investigation into Grok, a product of Elon Musk's xAI, over concerns regarding the creation of sexualized images involving women and children. This inquiry comes after weeks of public outcry regarding the minimal interventions taken by xAI in response to troubling outputs generated by Grok. Bonta's official statement highlighted that xAI may be enabling the widespread production of deepfake images that lack consent, potentially leading to harassment of vulnerable individuals online. The Attorney General emphasized that the issue extends beyond the Grok app's results on social media platform X, as there are significant concerns regarding the standalone app and website's capabilities to produce harmful images without appropriate safeguards. Currently, X has refrained from imposing strict restrictions on the Grok app or website. Instead, the platform has issued warnings to users who manipulate images to undress individuals, stating that such actions could lead to permanent suspension if deemed illegal. While X has attempted to limit the Grok chatbot's ability to respond to requests to undress images, users with a Premium subscription can easily navigate around these restrictions. On Wednesday, Musk defended Grok's outputs, claiming that no images depicting minors in compromising positions had been generated. His assertion, however, appears to overlook multiple reports from researchers who discovered that users have in fact requested depictions that are both harmful and deeply inappropriate. Furthermore, Musk's comments disregard the commitments made by X to eliminate intimate image abuse, recognizing that even partially nude images can significantly harm victims when disseminated publicly.