By Kyara Liu
Publication Date: 2026-01-14 15:58:00
The new image and video editing feature for xAI’s chatbot, Grok, has generated thousands of non-consensual, sexually explicit images of women and minors since Grok announced the editing feature on Christmas Eve. It was advertised as allowing Santa to be added to photos.
The increasing ease of perpetrating sexual violence using novel technologies reflects the urgent need for tech companies and policymakers to prioritize AI safety and regulation.
I am a doctoral student in public health. My research has focused primarily on the intersection between gender-based violence and health. Previously, I worked in teams that use AI as a tool to support survivors of violence. The potential and actual harms of AI on such a large scale require new regulations that protect the health of the mass population.
“Nudifying” apps
Concerns about sexually explicit “deepfakes” have been publicly discussed for some time. In 2018, the public learned that Reddit threads profiled machines…
