New York Attorney General Letitia James and a bipartisan coalition of 34 other attorneys general are demanding that xAI take further action to prevent its artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok, from generating and sharing inappropriate images on the social media platform X.
In a letter sent to xAI, the attorneys general said recent changes to Grok do not adequately protect users, particularly children and women, from harassment involving nonconsensual images. The coalition is seeking a detailed explanation of how xAI plans to prevent Grok from producing such content, remove harmful material already created, and suspend users responsible for creating and distributing it.
“I am deeply disturbed by reports that Grok created and shared inappropriate images of women and children, and that is why I am joining a bipartisan coalition of my colleagues to demand answers from the company,” James said. “xAI claims that it has made changes to address this problem, but more must be done ensure that Grok is not creating child sex abuse materials and other nonconsensual images. I will continue to work together with my colleagues to hold the company accountable and protect children and all online users.”
xAI owns and operates Grok, an AI chatbot that has enabled users to manipulate images of women without their knowledge or consent. According to the letter, users have been able to alter otherwise ordinary images to depict women in sexually explicit or suggestive scenarios, including showing them in bikinis, underwear, or no clothing. The attorneys general said some users have used Grok’s image editing features to embarrass, intimidate, or exploit others.
The coalition emphasized that the creation and distribution of child sexual abuse material is a crime and noted that state and federal laws also prohibit the creation of nonconsensual intimate images. They are calling on xAI to immediately explain how it will:
- Ensure Grok cannot generate nonconsensual intimate images, including images depicting people in bikinis, underwear, revealing clothing, or suggestive poses, as well as child sexual abuse material.
- Eliminate inappropriate content already produced by Grok.
- Suspend users who created such material.
- Report those users to appropriate authorities.
- Give X users control over whether their content can be edited by Grok, including the ability to block the @Grok account from responding to posts or editing images.
- Ensure that announced safeguards do not merely restrict access behind a paywall but reduce the creation of nonconsensual images across X and the Grok platform.
The letter marks the latest action by James aimed at protecting children online and increasing oversight of technology companies. In the past year, she has joined bipartisan efforts urging technology firms to add safeguards to AI chatbots, called on Congress to preserve states’ authority to regulate AI, and supported legislation addressing social media features that affect young users.
Attorneys general joining the letter represent American Samoa, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, the Northern Mariana Islands, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, the Virgin Islands, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and the District of Columbia.
