CRITICS OF X “want any excuse for censorship”, Elon Musk has claimed as his social media site faces the threat of being shut down over deepfake pornography and child sexual abuse images.

The billionaire sought to push back against the outcry over X’s AI chatbot Grok creating sexualised images of people, including children, at the request of users.

Pointing to claims other AI programmes created non-sexualised images of women in bikinis, he posted on X: “They want any excuse for censorship.”

Criticism of X has focused on Grok’s production of images of child abuse and manipulation of photographs of real women and girls to remove their clothes.

In Ireland, where X has its European headquarters, the government has responded to the development with mixed messages. At first, Media Minister Patrick O’Donovan said the blame lied with the users who request the creation of the images, not with the application itself. 

O’Donovan has since deleted his X account. 

Minister of State with responsibility for AI Niamh Smyth said yesterday that the Grok service should be suspended by the EU while an investigation takes place. 

Smyth also said the use of X by the government was inappropriate. 

Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris have taken a less assertive line when asked about the government’s use of X, with Martin stressing the benefits of getting points of view across to people online. 

Yesterday, officials from X agreed to meet with Smyth to discuss the issues with Grok.

X and Grok have received similar criticism in the UK, which prompted Musk to respond by sharing a post from US legislator Anna Paulina Luna threatening to sanction both UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the UK if X was blocked in the country.

The controversy has brought new attention to the AI app, which has shot to number one in the Apple App Store in Ireland. Yesterday, X appeared to have changed Grok’s settings, with the chatbot telling users that only paid subscribers could ask it to manipulate images. 

Related Reads

Officials from X agree to meet with AI minister amid Grok deepfakes backlash

Media Minister has deleted his X account over its digital undressing scandal

GAA club issues warning after young person targeted by AI-generated sexual content

However, reports suggested this only applied to those making requests in reply to other posts, and other ways of editing or creating images, including on a separate Grok website, remained open.

Child sexual abuse material and nonconsensual image generation are not the only issues that have emerged since Musk rolled out his Grok chatbot.

At one point last year, Grok christened itself “Mecha Hitler” and Grokipedia, Musk’s AI answer to Wikipedia, pushes racist conspiracy theories while also getting some basic facts wrong.

With reporting from Press Association