NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A federal class action lawsuit filed on behalf of 3 girls from Tennessee against xAI, the company behind Grok, and Stability AI is raising new questions about safeguards meant to prevent artificial intelligence companies from creating AI-generated child sexual abuse material as the technology evolves.
The three girls allege their pictures were turned into AI-generated child sex abuse materials.
The complaint says Grok’s ability to make sexually explicit content of adults meant it would be capable of making child sex abuse materials.
The lawsuit also claims Elon Musk, who owns Grok, knew about its capabilities.
Scott Falk, senior adviser for child protection and policy at Child Impact International in Collegedale, says…
“The unfortunate thing is, our children are being commoditized and abused.”
Falk questioned what protections are in place, saying…
“The questions are, you know, what guardrails did they put in place? And it appears that they weren’t very sufficient.”
Falk saya pornographic videos and pictures made by AI are becoming increasingly common, and he described the impact on victims.
“To be confronted with material like this involving them, it’s got to be shattering for them,” he says.
Ernest Staats, a cybersecurity expert at Information Sentinel, says AI systems do not make ethical judgments on their own.
“AI, does not have morals. It doesn’t have a moral compass.”
Staats also says that even when companies build in safeguards, users may find ways around them.
“They think they’ve got it well established, and then somebody thinks of a clever way of getting around the guardrails,” Staats says.
In a public statement on X, the company said…
“We remain committed to making X a safe platform for everyone and continue to have zero tolerance for any forms of child sexual exploitation, non-consensual nudity, and unwanted sexual content. We take action to remove high-priority violative content, including Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) and non-consensual nudity, taking appropriate action against accounts that violate our X Rules. We also report accounts seeking Child Sexual Exploitation materials to law enforcement authorities as necessary.”
Falk says he expects AI companies to add more safeguards and anticipates more legislation aimed at protection.
He also urged parents to consider limiting children’s access to smartphones and social media.
“A kid can survive and thrive without a smartphone, and a kid can survive and thrive without access to social media, and the downsides of both are far outweigh the upsides,” Falk says.
He warned that risks are not limited to outside threats.
“Now the danger is inside your own home. It’s your kids accessing social media on unfettered, on unrestricted devices,” Falk says.