In December, Elon Musk’s AI chatbot ‘Grok’ rolled out a new image-editing feature on his social media site, X. It didn’t take long for users to exploit it, digitally undressing women and girls and spreading non-consensual deepfakes. But while a governmental backlash in the UK is growing, these photos are still flooding in. So how is this legal? And are we finally reaching a moment where the harms of AI can’t be brushed aside?

Update: As of this morning (9/1), X has disabled Grok’s image generation tool for non-subscribers. Grok wrote in a reply that this was done “to ensure responsible use and address recent concerns about misuse for inappropriate content.”

This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestory

Guests:

Emma Yeomans, news reporter, The Times.
Chris Stokel-Walker, tech journalist and author.
Samantha Smith, columnist at The Catholic Herald.

Host: Manveen Rana.

Producers: Sophie McNulty, Harry Stott.

Read more: Elon Musk’s AI undressing tool on Grok could be banned

Further listening: Is 2026 the year of the AI backlash?

Clips: NBC News, Fox News.

Photo: Getty Images.

Get in touch: thestory@thetimes.com

This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

[North & South] 49ers & Rams Consequences / Imai Questions

The TK Show: A Show about sports in the Bay Area

49ers vs Seahawks: Can They Win All Three?

The AI-powered Podcast Player