Musk’s X to block Grok AI tool from creating sexualised images of real people
The UK government has claimed “vindication” after Elon Musk’s X announced it had stopped its AI-powered Grok feature from editing pictures of real people to show them in revealing clothes such as bikinis, including for premium subscribers.After a fortnight of public outcry at the tool embedded into X being used to create sexualised images of women and children, the company said it would “geoblock” the ability of users “to generate images of real people in bikinis, underwear, and similar attire via the Grok account and in Grok in X”, in countries where it was illegal.It said it would do this in the UK in line with law changes ministers have pledged to introduce.X also said it had “zero tolerance for any forms of child sexual exploitation, nonconsensual nudity, and unwanted sexual content”.It did not specify whether people would still be able to create such images on the standalone Grok app.
The prime minister, Keir Starmer, called X’s earlier decision to continue allowing the tool to be used by paid subscribers “horrific”.He also called the situation “disgusting” and “shameful” in parliament on Wednesday.Liz Kendall, the technology secretary, called it “a further insult to victims, effectively monetising this horrific crime”.Ofcom, the UK media regulator, on Monday launched a formal investigation into Musk’s platform after what it called “deeply concerning” reports of Grok being used to create and share illegal nonconsensual intimate images and child sexual abuse material on X.An Ofcom spokesperson said: “X has said it’s implemented measures to prevent the Grok account from being used to create intimate images of people.
This is a welcome development.However, our formal investigation remains ongoing.We are working round the clock to progress this and get answers into what went wrong and what’s being done to fix it.”Kendall welcomed the latest move by X but said she expected Ofcom’s investigation to “robustly establish the facts”.Scrutiny of Grok has intensified globally after it emerged some people were using it to digitally undress women and children without their consent and posting those images to X.
Thousands of these sexualised AI images have appeared X over the last few weeks.xAI, which makes Grok, also owns X, and both are run by Musk.The changes to the X and Grok systems came hours after the billionaire posted on his site: “I [sic] not aware of any naked underage images generated by Grok.Literally zero.”Musk’s xAI and X have faced growing backlash globally, including an investigation by California’s attorney general and calls by lawmakers and advocacy groups for Apple and Google to drop Grok from their app stores.
Countries including Malaysia and Indonesia have instigated bans or legal action.X said in a statement: “We take action to remove high-priority violative content, including child sexual abuse material and nonconsensual nudity, taking appropriate action against accounts that violate our X rules.We also report accounts seeking child sexual exploitation materials to law enforcement authorities as necessary.”Musk has said that Grok was programmed to refuse illegal requests and must comply with the laws of any given country or state.“Obviously, Grok does not spontaneously generate images.
It does so only according to user requests,” Musk said on Wednesday.Musk has said earlier on X that anyone using Grok to make illegal content would suffer the same consequences as if they uploaded illegal content.Three Democratic US senators last week called on Apple and Alphabet’s Google to remove X and its built-in AI tool Grok from their app stores, citing the spread of nonconsensual sexual images of women and minors on the platform.A coalition of women’s groups, tech watchdogs and progressive activists also made similar appeals to the tech companies.Last week, X curtailed Grok’s ability to generate or edit images publicly for users who were not paying subscribers.
But industry experts and watchdogs said that Grok was still able to produce sexually explicit images, and that restrictions, such as paywalling certain features, may not fully block access to deeper AI image tools,In the UK, the law is changing this week to criminalise the creation of such images, and Starmer said on Wednesday that X was working to comply with the new rules,Reuters contributed reporting
South East Water boss in line for £400,000 bonus despite outages
The boss of the company that has left thousands of households in south-east England without water for days is in line for a £400,000 long-term bonus regardless of his performance, if he resists calls for him to resign over the outages.David Hinton, the chief executive of South East Water, is to receive the payout if he stays on until July 2030.Hinton is facing calls to give up his right to the previously unreported “service award”. The payment, which was disclosed in the company’s annual report, is not performance-related, meaning that as long as he remains, Hinton will receive it whatever the company’s record on water supplies or pollution.South East Water has faced immense pressure after 30,000 households in Kent and East and West Sussex endured days of water supply failures in November and again in January
New York bakery staff push for union, claiming they were forced to bake for Israeli fundraisers
Workers at popular New York City bakery chain Breads Bakery announced a move to unionize, claiming it has “underpaid, undervalued, disrespected, discriminated against, intimidated and hurt” staff, as well as supported “the genocide happening in Palestine”.The company, which has ties to Israel, expressed concern that “divisive political issues” had been introduced into its stores. “We make babka; we don’t engage in politics,” a spokesperson said.But staff involved in the unionization drive claimed that employees were forced by the chain to create products for fundraisers for Israeli organizations, and unable to decline.The union, Breaking Breads, claims that more than 30% of the chain’s 275 workers across New York City had signed union authorization cards, seeking to unionize with United Auto Workers Local 2179 and pushing for better pay, improvements to working conditions such as the replacement of broken equipment, and respect on the job
Grok AI: what do limits on tool mean for X, its users and UK media watchdog?
Elon Musk’s X has announced it will stop the Grok AI tool from allowing users to manipulate images of people to show them in revealing clothing such as bikinis.The furore over Grok, which is integrated with the X platform, has sparked a public and political backlash as well as a formal investigation by Ofcom, the UK’s communications watchdog.Here is a guide to what X’s announcement means for the social media platform, its users and Ofcom.The social media platform said on Wednesday it had implemented “technical measures” to stop the @Grok account on X from allowing the editing of images of real people so that they appear to be in revealing clothing such as bikinis. Before this, users had been able to ask @Grok to manipulate images, with the results being published on the platform
‘Not regulated’: launch of ChatGPT Health in Australia causes concern among experts
A 60-year-old man with no history of mental illness presented at a hospital emergency department insisting that his neighbour was poisoning him. Over the next 24 hours he had worsening hallucinations, and tried to escape the hospital.Doctors eventually discovered the man was on a daily diet of sodium bromide, an inorganic salt mainly used for industrial and laboratory purposes including cleaning and water treatment.He bought it over the internet after ChatGPT told him he could use it in place of table salt because he was worried about the health impacts of salt in his diet. Sodium bromide can accumulate in the body causing a condition called bromism, with symptoms including hallucinations, stupor and impaired coordination
Tour de France reveals the six UK stage plans for historic 2027 Grands Départs
The men’s Tour de France will start in Scotland for the first time in 2027 and make its first visit to Wales when Britain stages the Grand Départ of the men’s and women’s races in the biggest festival of elite cycling on the isles since London 2012.Across six days of racing on British roads, the men’s Tour will visit Edinburgh, Carlisle, Keswick, Liverpool, Welshpool and Cardiff, while the Tour de France Femmes races from Leeds to Manchester, then to Sheffield and also includes a central London stage. On Thursday night all host cities were illuminated by yellow beams in recognition of them staging the Tour.Simon Morton, UK Sport’s director of events, said that the ambition was “to host a massive sporting event that would genuinely thread together the countries, cities, and communities of Great Britain.“The route details do just that, enabling us to reach, unite, and inspire people right across the country – providing moments of joy for millions, bringing communities together, and delivering lasting benefits beyond race day
Razor’s All Blacks lacked sharp edge but sacking Robertson does not guarantee revival | Robert Kitson
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