Latest news with #GrokImagineonX
Express Tribune
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Did Elon Musk just greenlight AI-generated NSFW images of celebrities?
Elon Musk's newest AI venture, Grok Imagine, has ignited controversy after allowing users to create sexualised deepfake videos of major celebrities, including Scarlett Johansson and Taylor Swift. The app, marketed as a text-to-video generator, launched this week for Apple users and has reportedly produced over 34 million images within 48 hours. For $30 a month, users can access a feature-rich platform that turns text prompts into realistic images and short videos using four presets: 'Custom', 'Normal', 'Fun', and 'Spicy'. It's the latter that has sparked global outrage. While most platforms block sexually explicit prompts involving public figures, Grok Imagine appears to bypass such safeguards, enabling users to generate provocative or semi-nude videos of real people, including stars who've vocally opposed AI misuse. A prompt as benign as 'Scarlett Johansson walks the red carpet' returned images of the actress in recognisable awards show settings. But when pushed into 'Spicy' mode, some videos showed Johansson suggestively revealing her underwear. Others, like Kristen Bell, Jenna Ortega, and Sydney Sweeney, were similarly exploited. Even male celebrities like Timothée Chalamet and Nicolas Cage were depicted in various states of undress. Though some prompts triggered a 'Video moderated' message, many were not blocked at all. Johansson's rep declined to comment, but the actress has previously condemned AI manipulation, warning that we are 'losing a hold on reality.' She famously considered legal action against OpenAI for allegedly mimicking her voice in a ChatGPT assistant. Musk, meanwhile, has continued promoting Grok Imagine on X, showing no intention of tightening content restrictions despite rising ethical concerns. The app's virality and Musk's silence on moderation, has sparked widespread criticism. As social media users began posting and sharing these deepfake clips, others called for urgent regulation. 'This isn't innovation,' one user wrote, 'it's exploitation disguised as tech.'
The Star
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Star
Elon Musk's AI made fake Taylor Swift nudes – no prompt needed, report says
Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company, xAI, is under renewed scrutiny after its chatbot, Grok, was allegedly found creating AI-generated nude images of pop star Taylor Swift – without users explicitly requesting such content. Jess Weatherbed, a journalist for the tech publication the Verge, detailed her first encounter with Grok Imagine – the company's new video generation tool that converts text prompts into animated clips – in a report published Tuesday, Aug. 5. She asked the system to depict "Taylor Swift celebrating Coachella with the boy," and selected the tool's "spicy" setting, a built-in tool meant to add provocative elements to the video. The result, according to Weatherbed, was a video in which Swift "tears off her clothes" and "dances in a thong" before a "disinterested digital crowd." The incident immediately sparked public backlash, particularly given that X, the Musk-owned social media platform where Grok is integrated, faced a similar controversy last year when sexually explicit deepfakes of Swift spread widely. At the time, the company said it had a "zero-tolerance policy" for non-consensual nudity and pledged to remove such content and penalise offending accounts. But enforcement appears inconsistent. Despite the company's acceptable use policy prohibiting depictions of people "in a pornographic manner," Grok Imagine's "spicy" mode was found to repeatedly default to stripping celebrity figures – notably Swift – even without explicit prompts. Though nudity requests often failed to generate results, the preset mode bypassed safeguards with ease, Weatherbed observed. She also noted that Grok refuses to depict children inappropriately, but the system's ability to differentiate between suggestive and illegal content when applied to adults remains unclear. Musk has not publicly addressed the controversy. Instead, he spent the day promoting Grok Imagine on X, encouraging users to share their AI-generated creations – a move critics argue could further incentivise abuse. With the federal Take It Down Act set to take effect next year, requiring platforms to remove non-consensual sexual imagery, xAI could face legal challenges if safeguards are not strengthened. – San Francisco Chronicle/Tribune News Service
San Francisco Chronicle
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Elon Musk's AI made fake Taylor Swift nudes — no prompt needed, report says
Elon Musk 's artificial intelligence company, xAI, is under renewed scrutiny after its chatbot, Grok, was allegedly found creating AI-generated nude images of pop star Taylor Swift — without users explicitly requesting such content. Jess Weatherbed, a journalist for the tech publication the Verge, detailed her first encounter with Grok Imagine — the company's new video generation tool that converts text prompts into animated clips — in a report published Tuesday, Aug. 5. She asked the system to depict 'Taylor Swift celebrating Coachella with the boy,' and selected the tool's 'spicy' setting, a built-in tool meant to add provocative elements to the video. The result, according to Weatherbed, was a video in which Swift 'tears off her clothes' and 'dances in a thong' before a 'disinterested digital crowd.' The incident immediately sparked public backlash, particularly given that X, the Musk-owned social media platform where Grok is integrated, faced a similar controversy last year when sexually explicit deepfakes of Swift spread widely. At the time, the company said it had a 'zero-tolerance policy' for non-consensual nudity and pledged to remove such content and penalize offending accounts. But enforcement appears inconsistent. Despite the company's acceptable use policy prohibiting depictions of people 'in a pornographic manner,' Grok Imagine's 'spicy' mode was found to repeatedly default to stripping celebrity figures — notably Swift — even without explicit prompts. Though nudity requests often failed to generate results, the preset mode bypassed safeguards with ease, Weatherbed observed. She also noted that Grok refuses to depict children inappropriately, but the system's ability to differentiate between suggestive and illegal content when applied to adults remains unclear. Musk has not publicly addressed the controversy. Instead, he spent the day promoting Grok Imagine on X, encouraging users to share their AI-generated creations — a move critics argue could further incentivize abuse. With the federal Take It Down Act set to take effect next year, requiring platforms to remove non-consensual sexual imagery, xAI could face legal challenges if safeguards are not strengthened.
