Elon Musk's xAI limits Grok image generation after misuse outcry

Elon Musk-owned xAI has stopped its chatbot Grok from creating images for most of its users telling them to subscribe to a premium plan to avail the service.

The new feature, which allowed users to create and edit images by just a simple post mentioning Grok drew widespread criticism over its misuse, with many using the feature for “perverted” acts.

A recent analysis suggests that nearly 50 percent of the images generated were sexually explicit and violent images. 

Many requests asked Grok to undress a fully clothed person or replace their clothing with a “bikini” or other inappropriate attire, which Grok was generating without any warning.

However, after widespread criticism and calls from different countries to ban the Elon Musk owned platform X and its chatbot, the xAI management has taken action stopping the image generation feature for the majority of the users.

Grok is now replying to image generation requests with this message: “Image generation and editing are currently limited to paying subscribers,” and provides the link to sign up for the premium version of the service.

Earlier, the United Kingdom and European Union launched an investigation into the app and threatened to shut it down.

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said, “This is disgraceful. It’s disgusting and it cannot be tolerated. I have asked Ofcom to put all options on the table.”

Ofcom is an independent regulator for the communications services in the U.K.