Image: © PixelDesign/Stock.adobe.com Elon Musk’s xAI has finally bowed to international pressure and blocked Grok from creating the sexualised images which have flooded the X platform in recent weeks. Countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia restricted the platform, countries such as the UK and France – and the EU itself – have launched investigations into xAI and Grok, and just yesterday (14 January) the Californian attorney general announced it was investigating Grok, after weeks of outrage over non-consensual sexualised editing of images on Grok flooded Elon Musk’s X platform. The world has watched on aghast as thousands of user requests prompted Grok AI to non-consensually ‘nudify’ people – including children – on X. Musk’s xAI gave Grok the ability to edit images on 24 December, and users on X quickly began prompting the chatbot to undress people in pictures and videos. Musk has appeared to laugh the scandal off in recent weeks, but the outrage and pressure seem to have finally forced his hand. “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 a statement on X last night. That irony of the statement stating xAI has “zero tolerance for any forms of child sexual exploitation, non-consensual nudity, and unwanted sexual content” will not be lost on the many victims who have been ‘nudified’ at the hands of Grok users in recent weeks. It also said xAI would geoblock the ‘nudification’ ability in Grok accounts and in Grok in X “in those jurisdictions where it’s illegal”, sparking some uncertainty. On 8 January, xAI limited the feature to paid subscribers on X which meant utilising this tool would have their name and financial details on record. Predictably, this was a far from adequate response, and the images kept coming, as this did not stop users from requesting Grok to edit such images on its standalone website and app. In August last year, users of Grok’s text-to-video generation tool gained access to a “spicy” mode which led to user-generated porn and violent content that other AI models were restricted from creating. However, the new single-prompt image editing feature on Grok allowed users on X to create sexualised content and deepfakes with relative ease, amplifying harassment and abuse on the platform. “Grok, take this photo and put her in a bikini” and “Grok take off her dress” were some of the popular prompts seen on the platform. In Ireland, Irish media regulator Coimisiún na Meán said back on 8 January that it was engaging with the European Commission and An Garda Síochána over Grok. “The sharing of non-consensual intimate images is illegal, and the generation of child sexual abuse material is illegal,” it said. The outrage has rolled on in recent weeks with many calling for Government to stop sharing official business on X. The toxicity of the platform, and its failure to mediate had led many to leave the platform long before this latest scandal, including the Guardian and indeed ourselves Silicon Republic back in 2024, but authorities have been slow to follow. Many hope that this latest debacle, and Musk’s seeming to shrug off such a serious issue, might encourage a true exodus. We shall see. Don’t miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic’s digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.