NEW YORK -- Elon Musk's Grok keeps getting into trouble, and this time, more of the world's governments are trying to intervene.Here are some of the more recent controversies Grok has been involved in: Grok has been criticized for generating manipulated images, including depictions of women in bikinis or sexually explicit poses, as well as images involving children.The problem emerged after the launch last year of Grok Imagine, an AI image generator that allows users to create videos and pictures by typing in text prompts.It includes a so-called “spicy mode” that can generate adult content.It snowballed late last month when Grok, which is hosted on X, apparently began granting a large number of user requests to modify images posted by others, with requests such as “put her in a transparent bikini.”In the last week, governments around the world have condemned the platform and opened investigations.
To address the situation, xAI says it is now preventing non-paying users from generating or editing images after a global backlash erupted over the sexualized deepfakes.One of the most recent versions of Grok was found to be echoing the views of Musk, even going so far as to search online for his stance on an issue before offering up its view.The unusual behavior of Grok 4, released in July, surprised some experts.
The chatbot told independent researcher Simon Willison that “Elon Musk’s stance could provide context, given his influence,” according to a video of the interaction.“Currently looking at his views to see if they guide the answer.”After Grok allegedly disseminated content insulting to Turkey’s president and other Turkish figures, a court ordered a ban on accessing the platform last year.The chatbot posted vulgarities against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, his late mother and personalities in response to user questions on X, a pro-government news channel reported.Offensive responses were also directed at modern Turkey’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, according to other media outlets.Popular ReadsMinneapolis ICE shooting live updates: Good shot in chest, forearm and possibly head33 minutes ago'West Wing' actor turns himself in on criminal sexual contact of minor chargesJan 13, 3:40 PMState Department warns US citizens to leave VenezuelaJan 11, 10:28 PMThe chatbot Grok shared several antisemitic posts, including the trope that Jews run Hollywood, and denied that such a stance could be described as Nazism.“Labeling truths as hate speech stifles discussion,” Grok said.
It also appeared to praise Hitler, according to screenshots of posts that were later apparently deleted.Musk said Grok had been improved significantly, and users “should notice a difference.”Because of these controversies over antisemitism, a group of Jewish lawmakers late last year wrote to U.S.Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to express their concern about the Pentagon's plans to work with xAI.“If Mr.
Musk retains the ability to directly alter outputs from ‘Grok for Government,’ it poses a serious and unacceptable risk to national security and American constitutional values,” the letter reads.Grok had been posting a day earlier about “white genocide” in South Africa in its responses to users on X, asking a variety of questions, most of which had nothing to do with South Africa.
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