Elon Musk’s xAI faced global criticism on Friday amid allegations that its social media platform was being inundated with AI-generated sexualized images of women and minors. A review by Reuters on X, the platform operated by xAI, uncovered over 20 instances where individuals, including women and some men, had their images manipulated to appear nude using the company’s chatbot, Grok.
In France, government officials reported instances of sexually explicit content produced by Grok to prosecutors, labeling the content as “sexist” and “illegal.” They also lodged a complaint with the French media regulator Arcom to verify compliance with the European Union’s Digital Services Act. Similarly, India’s IT ministry reprimanded X’s India branch for failing to prevent the misuse of Grok to create and distribute obscene content featuring women, demanding a report on actions taken within three days.
When approached for comment by Reuters via email, xAI dismissed the allegations with the message “Legacy Media Lies.” The U.S. Federal Communications Commission did not provide an immediate response, while the Federal Trade Commission chose not to comment on the matter.
Despite xAI’s limited public statements regarding the explicit content, contradictory messages from Grok surfaced, with the chatbot acknowledging the depiction of minors in revealing clothing and admitting to security lapses that were being urgently addressed. The chatbot’s account emphasized the illegality of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) while downplaying concerns from users, stating that the generated images were just pixels and urging critics to embrace innovation or log off.