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LAST UPDATE | 16 Jan
NIAMH SMYTH, THE Minister of State with responsibility for AI, met today with executives from X, as news comes that the company has refused to come before the Oireachtas Media Committee next week to answer questions.
Smyth, who pressed the company on ongoing concerns over non-consensual sexualised imagery being generated and shared through Grok, said she had raised her “serious dismay” at the platform, emphasising that any safeguards must match the sophistication of the technology.
She outlined the legal protections in Ireland, and sought assurances that Grok’s capability to alter images of real people would not be reintroduced.
“X informed me that corrective actions have now been implemented and that Grok, as integrated on the X platform, has been disabled from removing or reducing clothing on individuals worldwide,” Smyth said following the meeting.
“I welcomed these corrective actions but also sought assurance that this capability will not be reintroduced. I made clear that such activity will not be tolerated,” she added.
“Concerns remain regarding Grok as a standalone app, and this is something Government will examine further.”
Smyth also stated that she will “continue to monitor the situation closely”, and that she is scheduled to hold an in-person follow-up meeting with X in the near future.
Chairperson of the Oireachtas Media Committee and Labour TD Alan Kelly expressed concern this evening at X’s refusal to appear before the Oireachtas Committee.
He said: “The manner in which X have operated over the course of this debacle is disgraceful.”
“An invitation was issued to X to appear at the Oireachtas Committee on February 4th, which they have turned down today. Meanwhile, Meta and TikTok have agreed to attend Committee.”
“I would urge X executives to rethink this, and I am calling on Minister O’Donovan and Minster Smyth to reiterate to X the importance of it appearing at the Committee.
He described the attitude adopted by X as “deeply concerning”, particularly given Smyth’s reports following today’s meeting that “concerns remain”.
“X officials should have presented themselves to the Committee, to give the public and legislators an understanding of what happened and what steps are being taken to safeguard against any form of inappropriate and illegal use of AI,” he said.
The meeting comes amid a tense week for government ministers following an ongoing scandal over the AI-generated non-consensual sexualised imagery generated by Grok on X.
Minister for Communications and Media Patrick O’Donovan defended his handling of the issue this morning and rejected claims that Ireland’s regulatory approach is being influenced by the high levels of corporation tax it receives from tech companies.
“That’s utter rubbish,” the minister told RTÉ Radio 1′s David McCullagh this morning in a tetchy interview.
“That’s rubbish, to be quite honest about it, and I take offence to that on the basis that I don’t think anybody sitting around the Cabinet table would want to have any suggestion that there’s a lax attitude being taken towards the abuse of children.
“And I think that is utter rubbish. And I think for the Opposition or commentators to be saying that is beneath them,” he said.
O’Donovan defended comments he has made over the last fortnight in relation to X’s ‘undressing’ and child sexual abuse images scandal, and once again claimed he had been “taken out of context”.
Last week, speaking to Virgin Media News at the Young Scientist Competition in Dublin, O’Donovan said ultimate responsibility for the issue lies with individual users who are generating the child sexual abuse images.
The following day, in an interview with Live 95, the minister went further in his remarks and said that he had deleted his X account as he no longer felt comfortable using the site.
“That interview didn’t get any coverage by RTÉ or any other outlet,” the Minister incorrectly claimed today.
Asked if he believes X holds responsibility for the scandal, the Minister said yes, but that “further clarification” is needed on whether there is a legal loophole in terms of X’s culpability for the generation of the images.
“If there is, that loophole will be closed,” O’Donovan said.
Asked if his Department still being on X gives the platform credibility, the Minister responded: “Well, sure RTÉ are on X… Presenters of RTÉ are on X”.
He said he would not ask others to delete their X accounts because that is not his role as Minister.
Yesterday, X said in a statement that it will block its AI tool Grok from altering images of real people to show them in “revealing clothing” in countries where it is illegal. However, the change has been slow to come into effect, with users reporting that the functionality was still in place.
Junior Minister with responsibility for AI Niamh Smyth will meet today with representatives from X about the scandal. It comes after she met with the Attorney General on the issue yesterday.
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