xAI puts limits on Grok image editing after concerns from California, Europe

Jan 14 (Reuters) – Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI said late on Wednesday it imposed restrictions on all users of its Grok AI chatbot that limit image editing after the service produced sexualized images that sparked concerns among global regulators.

“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. This restriction applies to all users, including paid subscribers,” the company said in an X post.

Hyper-realistic images of women manipulated to look like they were in microscopic bikinis, in degrading poses or covered in bruises began flooding social media platform X this month. In some cases, minors were digitally stripped down to swimwear, sparking broad criticism.

Grok last week began allowing only paying subscribers to use its image generation and editing features. X last week curtailed Grok’s ability to generate or edit images publicly for many of its users, but the chatbot still privately produced sexually charged images on demand on Wednesday before xAI’s announcement, Reuters found.

Billionaire Musk owns xAI, which in turn owns X, formerly known as Twitter.

xAI added on Wednesday that it blocks users based on their location from generating images of people in skimpy attire in “jurisdictions where it’s illegal”. It did not name those jurisdictions.

California’s governor and attorney general said earlier on Wednesday they were demanding answers from xAI after Musk said he was not aware of any “naked underage images” generated by Grok.

“We’re demanding immediate answers from xAI on their plan to stop the creation & spread of this content,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta wrote on X. Governor Gavin Newsom called on Bonta “to immediately investigate the company and hold xAI accountable.”

The comments from Newsom and Bonta were the most serious so far by U.S. officials addressing the explosion of AI-generated nonconsensual sexualized imagery on X.

The California move added to pressure Musk is facing in the U.S. and around the world. Lawmakers and advocacy groups have called for Apple (AAPL.O),  and Google (GOOGL.O), to drop Grok from app stores.

Government officials have threatened action in Europe and the United Kingdom. Indonesia temporarily blocked access to Grok.

At first, Musk publicly laughed off the controversy, posting humorous emojis in response to other users’ comments about the influx of sexualized photos. More recently, X has said it treats reports of child sexual abuse material seriously and polices it vigorously.

Musk said earlier on Wednesday he was “not aware of any naked underage images generated by Grok. Literally zero.”

X did not immediately respond to questions about the California announcement and Musk’s comments.

xAI did not respond directly to an emailed request for comment on California officials’ statements or Musk’s post that he was unaware of sexualized imagery of minors. Reuters received its generic autoreply message for inquiries: “Legacy Media Lies.”