SpaceX warns investors about risks linked to Grok’s explicit AI content before IPO
Follow UsSpaceX has warned investors about the potential risks linked to xAI’s Grok chatbot in its latest pre-IPO filing.
In the filing, SpaceX said Grok’s NSFW (not-safe-for-work) features could create 'heightened risks' and lead to 'reputational harm.'
As per SpaceX, Grok’s NSFW modes are 'more irreverent and harsher than our standard offerings.'
SpaceX has warned investors about the potential risks linked to xAI’s Grok chatbot in its latest pre-IPO filing. The company highlighted concerns around harmful content, lawsuits, and regulatory investigations tied to Grok’s image-generation features. The warning appeared in SpaceX’s S-1 filing submitted on Wednesday, a few months after the company acquired xAI. The acquisition brought Grok, xAI’s social media platform and several AI features under SpaceX’s control.
SurveyIn the filing, SpaceX said Grok’s NSFW (not-safe-for-work) features could create ‘heightened risks’ and lead to ‘reputational harm’ because the chatbot’s NSFW modes are ‘more irreverent and harsher than our standard offerings.’
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As per Business Insider, the company also warned about the possible ‘generation of potentially explicit content,’ including ‘potential nonconsensual or exploitative imagery.’ According to the filing, Grok-generated content could sometimes be seen as ‘harmful, harassing, abusive, or discriminatory,’ while also raising intellectual property concerns.
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SpaceX confirmed in the filing that it is currently dealing with ‘investigations and inquiries’ in the US related to ‘allegations that our AI products were used to create nonconsensual explicit images or content representing children in sexualised contexts, and similar matters.’ For those unaware, Grok faced criticism earlier this year over the creation of non-consensual AI-generated sexual images of women, including minors. The controversy triggered backlash from government officials and led to lawsuits against the company.
The filing further stated: ‘The Company and certain subsidiaries have been named as defendants in multiple lawsuits arising from Grok’s image-generation and editing features.’
SpaceX said it plans to ‘defend itself vigorously in these actions.’ Earlier this year, Elon Musk also responded to the allegations, saying he was ‘not aware of any naked underage images generated by Grok.’
The filing also mentioned an inquiry by the Irish Data Protection Commission regarding the handling of personal data of European Union users, including children.
