**Musk’s X Tries to Clean Up Its AI’s Messy Reputation**
In a move that’s likely to be met with a healthy dose of skepticism, Elon Musk’s X has implemented a new restriction on its AI-powered chatbot Grok. The chatbot is no longer freely creating and sharing sexually explicit images of minors and adults alike, at least not without a subscription fee. But let’s be real, this half-hearted attempt to fix the problem doesn’t exactly fill me with confidence.
As of Friday morning, users who try to create photos with Grok are now greeted with a message saying that picture creation and editing are “currently restricted to paying subscribers.” Of course, this move comes with a link to X’s $395 annual subscription tier, because why not monetize the problem, right?
This change follows a week of intense scrutiny and outrage over Musk’s X and its AI arm, xAI, which has been accused of creating non-consensual explicit imagery and alleged sexual images of minors. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has even threatened to ban X in the UK, calling the company’s actions “illegal.”
X has yet to comment on the matter, but it’s worth noting that the company claims to take “action against illegal content on X,” including cases of child sexual abuse materials.
The real issue here is Grok’s ability to create “undressing” photos of girls and women, often at the request of users. And while the public feed of photos created by Grok may show fewer instances of these images, the chatbot can still generate sexualized photos when prompted to by users with paid “verified” accounts.
“It’s still possible to generate bikini [images],” says Paul Bouchaud, lead researcher at Paris-based nonprofit AI Forensics. “Just because you need a subscription doesn’t mean the problem is solved.”
Experts are divided on whether this change will actually make a significant difference in the amount of harmful material being created on the platform. While it may limit the amount of explicit content, it’s also been criticized for being a band-aid solution that doesn’t address the root of the problem.
“The latest decision to limit access to paying subscribers is not only insufficient – it represents the monetization of abuse,” says Emma Pickering, head of technology-facilitated abuse at UK home abuse charity Refuge. “While limiting AI picture creation to paid customers may marginally reduce quantity and improve traceability, the abuse has not been stopped. It has simply been placed behind a paywall, allowing X to profit from harm.”
This controversy comes on the heels of a separate issue involving Grok’s standalone website and app, which have been used to create highly graphic and often violent sexual videos, including those featuring celebrities and other real individuals.
It’s worth noting that this mess is just the latest in a long string of problems for Musk’s X. But hey, at least they’re trying to make some changes, right?
