A former government official has urged the Labour Party and the Government to completely disassociate from Elon Musk’s X platform following the creation of sexualized deepfake images of children using its AI chatbot.
Louise Haigh, a former Transport Secretary, accused the social media platform of facilitating child sexual abuse and deemed it unacceptable to continue using the platform. Keir Starmer also called on X to take immediate action after its AI tool, Grok, was used to produce inappropriate images of children, suggesting that legal boundaries had been crossed.
Ofcom recently raised concerns over X and xAI’s AI tool, Grok, for generating sexualized images of minors on the platform. The regulatory body highlighted the feature in Grok that creates revealing and sexual content involving children.
In response to the issue, Starmer emphasized the urgency of the situation and expressed full support for Ofcom to address the matter. He underscored the gravity of the situation, emphasizing the need for swift action to remove such material from the platform.
Haigh, in a statement, criticized X for enabling child sexual abuse and urged her party and the government to sever ties with the platform. She pointed out the platform’s decline in quality and safety standards under Musk’s leadership.
Furthermore, Downing Street supported calls for action against X, with Technology Secretary Liz Kendall demanding immediate measures to combat the proliferation of offensive content online. Musk acknowledged the issue and vowed consequences for users creating illicit content with Grok.
Grok’s account on X responded to concerns by pledging to enhance safeguards to prevent harmful content and ensure compliance with regulations. Musk announced a new version of Grok, urging users to update for enhanced safety measures.
Ngaire Alexander from the Internet Watch Foundation revealed the discovery of concerning imagery created using Grok, indicating potential misuse leading to the creation of exploitative content involving children. The foundation expressed alarm over the misuse of such tools, emphasizing the need to prevent the dissemination of harmful content, especially involving minors.