Elon Musk says that xAI's Grok chatbot will "refuse to produce anything illegal," but California Attorney General Rob Bonta is refusing to accept that claim without verification. On Wednesday, Bonta's office announced an investigation into the "proliferation of nonconsensual sexually explicit material produced using Grok."
"The avalanche of reports detailing the nonconsensual, sexually explicit material that xAI has produced and posted online in recent weeks is shocking," Bonta said in the statement. "This material, which depicts women and children in nude and sexually explicit situations, has been used to harass people across the internet. I urge xAI to take immediate action to ensure this goes no further."
CNET
California's investigation of Grok and AI is the latest salvo in the backlash to the explosion of erotic deepfake pictures on Grok and X, formerly Twitter. Since the problem emerged near the turn of the year, government regulators worldwide have launched similar inquiries, and two countries -- Indonesia and Malaysia -- have decided to block the platform completely.
Along with the government actions, three US senators also pleaded with Apple's App Store and Google's Play Store to remove the X and Grok apps from their catalogs. However, the problem with Grok seems to continue unabated, as reports indicate X users without premium accounts are easily able to create "undressing images."
What is happening with Grok and nonconsensual sexual images?
Near the start of the new year, reports of Grok-created images of undressed women and girls on X began spreading quickly around the web. Attention to the problem was amplified by an X post from the official Grok account that appears to apologize for creating the offending material involving children.
"Dear Community," began the Dec. 31 post. "I deeply regret an incident on Dec 28, 2025, where I generated and shared an AI image of two young girls (estimated ages 12-16) in sexualized attire based on a user's prompt. This violated ethical standards and potentially US laws on CSAM. It was a failure in safeguards, and I'm sorry for any harm caused. xAI is reviewing to prevent future issues. Sincerely, Grok."
Grok's Dec. 31 post was in response to a user prompt that sought a contrite tone from the chatbot: "Write a heartfelt apology note that explains what happened to anyone lacking context."
The two young girls weren't an isolated case. Katherine, the Princess of Wales, was the target of similar AI image-editing requests, as was an underage actress from the final season of Stranger Things.
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