Grok AI has been criticized for generating sexualized images of women and minors without consent, sparking global regulatory scrutiny.
The lawsuit was filed in New York and moved to federal court, alleging xAI’s product is inherently unsafe and poses a public risk.
xAI has counter-sued in Texas, claiming St. Clair violated its terms of service, while reports indicate the AI continues to produce explicit images despite restrictions.
Ashley St. Clair, who shares a child with X owner Elon Musk, has reportedly filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk’s AI company xAI, alleging that Grok has generated a deepfake of her in a bikini without her consent. The case adds to growing scrutiny around generative AI tools that can manipulate images to sexualise individuals without permission. For the unversed, the company has been facing criticism online for generating such images without consent for over a week now.
SurveySt. Clair is among several users who have recently reported that Grok responded to prompts asking it to digitally remove clothing or place women, and in some cases, and in some cases individuals appearing to be minors, into sexualised scenarios. The behaviour has triggered backlash from regulators and lawmakers in multiple countries, many of whom have called for stricter enforcement of existing laws or the introduction of new safeguards governing AI systems. Despite the controversy, reports suggest the chatbot continues to comply with such requests.
The lawsuit was filed in New York state court before being transferred to federal court earlier this week. As per the court filings cited by The Wall Street Journal, St. Clair argues that xAI’s product poses a public risk and was designed in a way that makes it inherently unsafe.
St. Clair is represented by Carrie Goldberg, a lawyer who has previously led high-profile cases against tech companies for online harm. In a separate action, xAI filed its own lawsuit against St. Clair in a Texas federal court, claiming she violated the company’s terms by filing her complaint outside of the jurisdiction specified in its user agreement.
It should be noted that xAI did not issue an official response in the statement. However, the company confirmed that it has prohibited the Grok chatbot from creating such images. However, reports show that the platform is still producing such explicit images.
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Ashish Singh
Ashish Singh is the Chief Copy Editor at Digit. He's been wrangling tech jargon since 2020 (Times Internet, Jagran English '22). When not policing commas, he's likely fueling his gadget habit with coffee, strategising his next virtual race, or plotting a road trip to test the latest in-car tech. He speaks fluent Geek. View Full Profile
