Grok-2 Generates Controversy; Expert Reactions

Elon Musk’s AI operation xAI last week released the latest version of its chatbot, Grok-2, in beta for premium users of X (formerly Twitter). Like some rival systems, it now includes a prompt-driven image generation capability.

Users were quick to test its capabilities and soon discovered it was lacking the guardrails competing products have in place. They were able to generate deepfakes of real people, including musicians and politicians in compromising situations. One combined these ideas and created a picture of Donald Trump marrying Taylor Swift and another Swift in a MAGA hat.

It also played fast and loose with copyright and enabled violent and pornographic image generation. Mickey Mouse was portrayed smoking and drinking alcohol while a nuclear mushroom cloud exploded behind him and Pikachu was depicted carrying an AK-47.

And while Musk promoted the release with flattering images of himself as a cowboy and posing in a leather jacket, some users turned it against him, illustrating him as overweight or kissing Trump.

By contrast, competing tools like Google’s Gemini were seen to have overcompensated for bias by portraying historically white figures such as the founding fathers of Nazi-era German soldiers as people of color.

Here experts weigh in on what went wrong and whether a healthy balance in AI image generation can be reached.

Related:How to Monitor AI with AI

Ryan Waite, vice president of public affairs at Think Big

The lack of content moderation guardrails on Grok presents significant moral and legal issues. Legal experts and civil rights advocates argue that Grok represents one of the most reckless implementations of AI. The unmitigated creation of potentially harmful images opens up X to huge legal liability. Such images could easily be classified as misinformation, sexual harassment or copyright infringement.

The legal red flags alone warrant a reevaluation of Grok's content moderation protocols. What makes this all the more peculiar is Elon Musk's pointed criticism of AI and the very problems his AI product is guilty of creating. One would think Musk would be highly cautious with anything relating to AI.

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