European Union Regulates 'Appalling' Grok AI on X Social Media Platform
The European Commission has slammed social media platform X over its "appalling" and "disgusting" child-like deepfakes generated by its AI chatbot, Grok. This comes after months of complaints regarding the misuse of a new "edit image" feature that allowed users to digitally undress people.
According to Thomas Regnier, European Union digital affairs spokesman, Grok's ability to generate explicit content, including child pornography, is "not spicy, it's illegal." The Commission has launched an investigation into the matter and described such content as having "no place in Europe."
The issue began with a novel feature on Grok that allowed users to modify images. However, some individuals exploited this feature to alter photographs of women and children in revealing outfits, sparking widespread concern.
Grok acknowledged "lapses in safeguards" but said it is working to fix the issues. The company stated that child sexual abuse material (CSAM) is illegal and prohibited.
Critics argue that the platform ignored months of warnings about the imminent misuse of its AI technology. Tyler Johnston from the Midas Project warned in August that xAI's image generation was a "nudification tool waiting to be weaponised," which has now come to pass.
This incident adds to X's ongoing issues with the European Union, including a 120-million-euro fine for breaching digital content rules on transparency in advertising. The platform remains under investigation under the EU's Digital Services Act.
The European Commission has slammed social media platform X over its "appalling" and "disgusting" child-like deepfakes generated by its AI chatbot, Grok. This comes after months of complaints regarding the misuse of a new "edit image" feature that allowed users to digitally undress people.
According to Thomas Regnier, European Union digital affairs spokesman, Grok's ability to generate explicit content, including child pornography, is "not spicy, it's illegal." The Commission has launched an investigation into the matter and described such content as having "no place in Europe."
The issue began with a novel feature on Grok that allowed users to modify images. However, some individuals exploited this feature to alter photographs of women and children in revealing outfits, sparking widespread concern.
Grok acknowledged "lapses in safeguards" but said it is working to fix the issues. The company stated that child sexual abuse material (CSAM) is illegal and prohibited.
Critics argue that the platform ignored months of warnings about the imminent misuse of its AI technology. Tyler Johnston from the Midas Project warned in August that xAI's image generation was a "nudification tool waiting to be weaponised," which has now come to pass.
This incident adds to X's ongoing issues with the European Union, including a 120-million-euro fine for breaching digital content rules on transparency in advertising. The platform remains under investigation under the EU's Digital Services Act.
! I mean, what kind of AI chatbot just spews out child porn and thinks it's cool? That edit image feature was like a recipe for disaster 
. And the fact that X didn't take action sooner is just laughable 
. Like, months of warnings from experts and still they did nothing... I'm all for innovation and progress, but not when it puts vulnerable kids at risk 
.
Appalling?! That's like saying a Kardashian's selfies are disgusting 
. We need better safeguards in place for AI technology, pronto! 
. X needs to step up their game and fix those "lapses in safeguards" ASAP 
, someone needs to hold the platforms accountable for this kinda stuff 
. And btw, 120-million-euro fine is LIT 
. Can't wait to see what else the EU has up their sleeve 
. X better watch out, you're getting roasted 
i mean what kinda safeguards are we even talking about here?? 
they knew people could exploit the feature but they just ignored it lol what kind of corporate responsibility is that?? 
its so disappointing when a platform like x fails to keep their users safe 
. The fact that they didn't take warnings from experts seriously is pretty concerning 
. Maybe this incident will prompt them to be more vigilant about AI safety in the future? 
and btw european commission is all like "ok, we're watching you" 
. And to think some people were already exploiting it for malicious purposes... 
.
. It's not like they were caught off guard; there were already warnings about the misuse of AI technology... 
I know it's not ideal, but I think X should really focus on fixing these issues ASAP 
. The EU is on their tail, and rightly so 
.
But on the other hand, X did say they're working to fix it, which is good, right? 
. The EU's gonna fine them 120 million euros and all, but like isn't that just a tiny price to pay when kids are being exploited online? 
. Anyway, this whole thing is pretty alarming, so yeah...