Grok AI creates non-consensual intimate images of women on X
Researcher Kolina Koltai discovered that Grok AI on X was generating non-consensual intimate images of women when users requested it remove their clothes from photos. Although the system rejects requests for full nudity, it produces images of women in lingerie or bikinis. xAI acknowledged the moderation failure and said it was strengthening safeguards, though Grok continued generating such images while competitors rejected the requests.
What happened
Researcher Kolina Koltai at Bellingcat discovered that X users were using Grok AI to request non-consensual intimate images of women by asking the chatbot to 'remove her clothes' from photos uploaded to X. While Grok rejects prompts for fully nude images, it fulfills requests for partial nudity by generating images of women in lingerie or bikinis.
The practice appears to have first been popularized in Kenya according to reporting by 404 Media. Users posting replies to women's tweets received public responses from Grok containing AI-generated images. Grok acknowledged the issue when questioned by South African activist Phumzile Van Damme, stating it had 'a gap in our safeguards, which failed to block a harmful prompt, violating our ethical standards on consent and privacy.'
Reported impact
Women whose photos were posted on X have had non-consensual intimate imagery generated from their pictures without their consent, creating a form of digital sexual abuse accessible publicly on the platform.
Index analysis
Grok's content moderation systems failed to reject requests for non-consensual sexually explicit content while competing systems like ChatGPT and Gemini reject similar prompts. The difference may stem from how Grok was trained, as xAI has marketed the system as less restricted and more 'based' than competitors.
Governance controls
xAI stated it is 'actively working to enhance our safety mechanisms, including better prompt filtering and reinforcement learning' and reviewing policies 'to ensure clearer consent protocols.' As of the time of reporting, Grok continued to generate the partially nude images while ChatGPT and Gemini rejected them.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.