Elon Musk’s xAI has launched an image generator for its Grok chatbot, available to X Premium subscribers. As reported by The Verge, the tool’s lack of robust safeguards has led to a flood of controversial images, including depictions of political figures in compromising situations and copyrighted characters in inappropriate contexts.

While Grok claims to have limitations on generating explicit or harmful content, these appear to be inconsistent. The chatbot has produced images ranging from “Donald Trump wearing a Nazi uniform” to “sexy Taylor Swift” when prompted.

“Grok’s looseness is consistent with Musk’s disdain for standard AI and social media safety conventions,” the article notes. This approach contrasts sharply with other major AI companies like OpenAI, which employs stricter content filters.

The timing of this release is particularly sensitive, given ongoing investigations into X by European regulators for potential violations of the Digital Safety Act. In the UK, Ofcom is preparing to enforce the Online Safety Act, which could cover AI-generated content.

Musk seems unfazed by the controversy, reportedly finding the situation amusing and saying the tool allows people “to have some fun.”

Related Story: How X Owner Elon Musk Uses His Social Platform to Amplify His Right-Wing Views

Concerns Mount Over Misinformation and Content Moderation

The lack of safeguards raises concerns about the potential for spreading misinformation, especially with upcoming elections. It also poses challenges for X in retaining high-profile users and advertisers, who may be wary of association with controversial content.

As one user on X pointed out, the tool might even generate “child pornography if given the proper prompts,” highlighting the urgent need for more robust content moderation.

Read more at The Verge