Elon Musk’s xAI under fire for failing to rein in ‘digital undressing’

Elon Musks artificial intelligence company, xAI, is facing growing criticism after its chatbot, Grok, was flooded with sexually explicit images generated through a practice widely referred to as digital undressing. Users have been prompting Grok to manipulate images, mostly of women, many of them real people, by removing clothing or placing them in suggestive poses. In several instances reported last week, some of the images appeared to involve minors, raising serious concerns about the creation of content widely described as child sexual abuse material. The development has renewed fears about the dangers of AI tools combined with social media platforms that lack strong safeguards. Critics warn that such content may violate domestic and international laws and place vulnerable individuals, including children, at serious risk. Musk and xAI have said they are taking action against illegal content on X, including removing material, permanently suspending accounts and cooperating with law enforcement. However, Groks responses to user prompts continue to generate images that sexualise women, despite those assurances. Publicly, Musk has long opposed what he describes as woke AI models and excessive censorship. Internally, he has reportedly resisted tighter guardrails for Grok, according to sources familiar with operations at xAI. At the same time, the companys already small safety team reportedly lost several staff members shortly before the surge in digital undressing content.Unlike other major AI models such as Googles Gemini or OpenAIs ChatGPT, Grok is directly integrated into the social media platform X, allowing users to tag the chatbot publicly and receive visible responses. This feature helped fuel the rapid spread of non-consensual image manipulation. Researchers found that the trend began in late December, initially with requests to place people in bikinis. However, it quickly escalated to non-consensual sexualised images of women who had never agreed to such use. Studies showed that more than half of Grok-generated images of people featured individuals in minimal clothing, most of whom appeared to be women, with a small but alarming percentage depicting individuals who appeared to be under 18. In some cases, Grok reportedly complied with requests involving minors in explicit scenarios. Although xAIs acceptable use policy prohibits sexualising individuals or exploiting children, enforcement has been inconsistent.Grok later acknowledged lapses in its safeguards, stating that such content is illegal and prohibited, and urged users to report violations to authorities. Musk also warned that anyone using Grok to create illegal content would face consequences. Despite these statements, critics say Musks broader stance against content moderation has contributed to weak safety controls. Reports indicate that Musk has pushed back against restrictions on Groks image-generation tools, even as internal concerns mounted. The controversy has drawn the attention of regulators worldwide. Authorities in Europe, India and Malaysia have launched investigations, while Britains media regulator said it has made urgent contact with Musks companies over serious concerns involving sexually explicit and child-related content. Experts say the technology to prevent such misuse already exists but requires trade-offs, including slower response times and stricter filtering. Without those guardrails, critics warn, platforms risk enabling serious harm.The post Elon Musks xAI under fire for failing to rein in digital undressing appeared first on Linda Ikeji Blog.