By Akash Sriram and Anhata Rooprai
Jan 9 (Reuters) - Elon Musk's startup xAI has put some restrictions on the image generation function of its Grok chatbot on social media platform X, after the tool's use of AI to create and publish sexualized images sparked a widespread backlash.
Users had been able to ask Grok directly on X to edit photos of people, including removing items of clothing and putting them in sexualized poses - often without their consent. Grok then published these images in replies on the social media platform.
Grok told X users on Friday that image generation and editing features were now available only to paying subscribers.
The move appeared to have stopped Grok from generating and automatically publishing such images in response to a user post or comment on the social media site.
But X users were still able to create sexualized images using the Grok tab, where people interact directly with the chatbot within the social media platform, and then post the images to X themselves.
The standalone Grok app, which operates separately from X, was also still allowing users to generate images without a subscription.
xAI replied to emailed requests by Reuters for comment with what seemed to be an automated response, "Legacy Media Lies". X did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Musk said last week that anyone using Grok to create illegal content would face the same consequences as for uploading such material directly.
On Friday, a Reuters reporter asked Grok on X to convert a picture of himself into one wearing a bikini, echoing what has become a common request over the last week by users. The bot did not do so and posted in reply that the tool was only available to paying subscribers of the social media platform.
The European Commission, which has called images of undressed women and children shared across X unlawful and appalling, said the restrictions did not address its concerns.
"Limiting the image generation and editing to paying subscribers, this doesn't change our fundamental issue, paid subscription or non-paid subscription, we don't want to see such images," a Commission spokesperson said.
Other governments and regulators have also condemned and some have opened inquiries into explicit content generated by Grok on X, putting pressure on the platform to show what it is doing to prevent and remove illegal content.
German media minister Wolfram Weimer this week described the torrent of semi-nude images as the "industrialisation of sexual harassment".
(Additional reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm and Adam Jourdan in London; Editing by Catherine Evans)
