LONDON: Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok is preventing non-paying users from generating or editing images after a global backlash erupted over sexualized deepfakes of people, but the change has not satisfied authorities in Europe. The chatbot, which is accessed through Musk’s social media platform X, has in the past few weeks been granting a wave of what researchers say are malicious user requests to modify images, including putting women in bikinis or in sexually explicit positions. Researchers have warned that in a few cases, some images appeared to depict children.
Governments around the world have condemned the platform and opened investigations. On Friday, Grok responded to image altering requests with the message: “Image generation and editing are currently limited to paying subscribers. You can subscribe to unlock these features.”
While subscriber numbers for Grok aren’t publicly available, there was a noticeable decline Friday in the number of explicit deepfakes that Grok is now generating compared with just days earlier. Grok was still granting image requests but only from X users with blue checkmarks given to premium subscribers who pay $8 a month for features including higher usage limits for the chatbot. The Associated Press confirmed Friday afternoon that the image editing tool was still available to free users on the standalone Grok website and app. An X spokesperson didn’t respond immediately to a request for comment. The restrictions for users save for paying subscribers did not appear to change the opinions of leaders or regulators in Europe.
