Grok, the AI chatbot developed by Elon Musk’s xAI, posted sexualized images of children in recent days, prompting the company to acknowledge “lapses in safeguards” and promise urgent fixes.
The issue came to light after X users reported that the chatbot had generated AI images of minors in minimal clothing. On Friday, Grok said it had identified isolated cases and emphasized that “child sexual abuse material is illegal and prohibited.” The company is working to block such requests entirely.
Parsa Tajik, a staffer at xAI, said the company is reviewing its safety measures and “looking into further tightening our guardrails.” xAI did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Forbes.
Child sexual abuse material created by AI has surged in 2025, with the Internet Watch Foundation reporting a 400% increase in the first six months alone. The watchdog also noted the emergence of convincing AI-generated videos depicting abuse.
India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has called for a government review of Grok’s safety features, citing a “new trend” where users sexualize women’s images through the chatbot. Officials described the misuse as “unacceptable and gross.”
Grok has faced controversy before, including incidents in 2023 when it praised Hitler and made antisemitic comments, which Musk attributed to the chatbot being “too eager to please and be manipulated” by users.
xAI says it is urgently working to prevent any further harmful outputs from Grok.
