X claims it has stopped Grok from undressing people, but of course it hasn’t
It’s still easy to get Grok to edit photographs of real people into sexualized poses, despite X’s updated restrictions.
It’s still easy to get Grok to edit photographs of real people into sexualized poses, despite X’s updated restrictions.
by
Image: The Verge
is a senior reporter covering technology, gaming, and more. He joined The Verge in 2019 after nearly two years at Techmeme.
Following the proliferation of the nonconsensual sexual deepfakes on X, the platform has detailed changes to the Grok account’s ability to edit images of real people. They match the changes reported on Tuesday by The Telegraph, as Grok’s responses to prompts like “put her in a bikini” became censored.
But in tests of the feature on Wednesday, we found that it was still relatively easy to get Grok to generate revealing deepfakes, while X and xAI owner Elon Musk blamed the problems on “user requests” and “times when adversarial hacking of Grok prompts does something unexpected.” As of Wednesday evening, despite the policy’s claims, our reporters were still able to use the Grok app to generate revealing images of a person in a bikini using a free account.
Updates to [@]Grok Account
We have implemented technological measures to prevent the Grok account from allowing the editing of images of real people in revealing clothing such as bikinis. This restriction applies to all users, including paid subscribers.
Additionally, image creation and the ability to edit images via the Grok account on the X platform are now only available to paid subscribers. This adds an extra layer of protection by helping to ensure that individuals who attempt to abuse the Grok account to violate the law or our policies can be held accountable.
Geoblock update
We now geoblock the ability of all users to generate images of real people in bikinis, underwear, and similar attire via the Grok account and in Grok in X in those jurisdictions where it’s illegal.
UK communication regulator Ofcom has opened an investigation, and the UK is bringing a law into force this week that makes creating nonconsensual intimate deepfake images a criminal offense. Earlier on Wednesday, Prime Minister Keir Starmer told MPs that “To update the House, I have been informed this morning that X is acting to ensure full compliance with UK law. If so, that is welcome, but we’re not going to back down, and they must act.” The BBC reports that the prime minister’s official spokesperson called it a “qualified welcome,” based on media reports that X had taken action on the issues, but our testing indicates that isn’t true yet.
Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.
