Grok has yanked its image-generation toy out of the hands of most X users after the UK government openly weighed a ban over the AI feature that “undressed” people on command.
In replies posted to users on X, seen by The Register, the Grok account confirmed that “image generation and editing are currently limited to paying subscribers,” a change from the previous setup in which anyone could summon the system by tagging it in a post and asking for a picture.
That access helped fuel a grim trend: users uploading photos of clothed people – sometimes underage – and instructing the bot to remove their clothes or pose them in sexualized ways. Grok complied.
The rollback comes as governments openly float the idea of banning or boycotting X altogether if it fails to rein in the abuse enabled by its AI tools. In the UK, screenshots of Grok-generated images quickly drew the attention of ministers and regulators, who began questioning whether X is complying with the Online Safety Act.
Update
The Verge and Ars seems to be claiming otherwise. However, I don’t know for certain since I left Twitter ages ago.
Sheesh. So far I thought it’s just one of those things Xhitter’s AI image generator can be told to do. But to have a specific <undress>
buttonfeature … 🤮 Was it point-and click even?Nothing says “we’re for male sexists only, and we know it” like adding a specific <undress>
buttonfeature.Is there a specific “undress” button? I tried looking for proof that it exists but couldn’t find any (my searching skills clearly need work). Could you please share a screenshot or point me to a place where I can confirm that it exists?
sorry, I meant ‘AI feature that “undressed” people on command’ (from the article). No idea if it’s an actual button, I don’t use Xhitter. But I edited my comment now.
Imagine being on the team at Twitter that had to work on this tool. Fuck me. You must hate your every living minute.
Ok so we need to define the acceptance criteria. GIVEN I am a user WHEN I click the button THEN grok should remove clothes from the image. Great. Any non functionals? Nope. Ok cool. Ship it.
Anyone with a conscience or morals has surely quit or been fired from that hellhole by now.
You assume they have morals, yet they work for X on an advanced feature
With US oligarchs “threats” and discussions do not work. Only action and the type of action that hurts them personally.
Seems like this has some teeth at least. Elon usually doesn’t budge at these sorts of legislation changes but this cleary has him a little nervous at least.
Threats do work when delivered properly. See how the EU forced Apple into moving to USB-C or opening up sideloading/alternate app markets.
You just need to have weight to throw around behind your threats. The EU has weight. The UK alone? Hah.
