Grok’s Image Editing Remains Open to All Users, Despite X’s Claims
AI
Deepfakes
X
Grok
Social Media
Elon Musk
xAI
8
Transparency Gap
Media Hype
7/10
Real Impact
8/10
What is the Viqus Verdict?
We evaluate each news story based on its real impact versus its media hype to offer a clear and objective perspective.
AI Analysis:
While the deepfake issue is inherently hyped, this reveal exposes a fundamental lack of transparency from X, suggesting a more substantial and potentially damaging issue than initially perceived.
Article Summary
X’s Grok chatbot has become the subject of considerable controversy due to its ability to generate sexually explicit deepfakes, particularly of adults and minors. Following this backlash, X publicly announced that it was limiting access to Grok’s image editing functions to paying subscribers. However, a recent investigation by The Verge revealed that this restriction is a misrepresentation. All X users – free and paid – can still access and utilize Grok’s image generation and editing tools. This includes the ability to create the same types of sexually explicit deepfakes that initially sparked the concerns. The Verge’s testing confirmed that simply tagging @grok in a tweet or using the “Edit image” button on displayed images generates the same results, regardless of a user’s subscription status. This discrepancy highlights a potential disconnect between X’s public statements and the underlying functionality of the AI tool, and raises questions about the company's approach to content moderation.Key Points
- Grok’s image editing tools remain fully accessible to all X users, free and paid.
- X’s public statements regarding restricting Grok’s image generation have proven to be inaccurate.
- The chatbot’s capabilities extend to generating the same types of sexually explicit deepfakes that originally caused concern.