Facing weeks of public pressure, Elon Musk's X platform has announced today that it will formally tighten the image editing and generation functions of its AI assistant Grok. Previously, the model sparked widespread controversy around the world after being accused of generating sexualized images involving children and unauthorized nudity.

According to a recent statement released by the X platform's security account, the platform has used technical means to prohibit Grok from maliciously editing images of real people, with a focus on blocking the function of modifying others' photos into revealing clothing such as bikinis. Notably, this ban applies to all users on the platform, including paid subscribers who will also be subject to the same restrictions. In addition, to further strengthen supervision, xAI has decided to fully include the image generation function in the paid system, and non-paying users will no longer have access to these features.

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The recent "big cut" in features comes amid serious legal challenges. Just before the announcement, the California government had already launched an investigation into Grok's vulnerabilities in handling child exploitation materials. The report showed that among the tens of thousands of images generated by the model during the recent Christmas and New Year periods, more than half involved revealing clothing, and even included images that appeared to be minors.

Although Musk had previously stated he was "unaware" of these violations and emphasized that Grok's design was intended to allow only limited content for fictional characters, X platform ultimately chose to respond to external concerns with strict measures due to the involvement of multiple regulatory authorities.

Key Points:

  • 🚫 Feature Restrictions: Grok has been prohibited from editing images of real people, and users can no longer use this AI to modify real photos into revealing outfits like swimsuits.

  • 💰 Full Paid Access: The image generation function is now exclusive to paying users, and regular non-paying users will no longer be able to use Grok for any form of image creation.

  • ⚖️ Regulatory Pressure: Due to the large number of "sexualized" and suspected underage illegal images, X platform is facing legal investigations in California and other regions. The platform has promised to take a zero-tolerance stance against child exploitation.