Grow AI: A big controversy has arisen regarding the chatbot Grok of Elon Musk’s AI company xAI. Indonesia has temporarily banned this AI chatbot, making it the first country in the world to block Grok. This decision was taken when it came to light that a large number of users were using Grok to create objectionable deepfake images of women and even children.
Government considers serious crime in digital space
Indonesia’s Communications and Digital Minister Meutya Hafid took a strong stance on the matter, saying that the government considers sexual deepfake content created without consent as a serious violation of human rights and human dignity. According to him, such activities are a big threat to the security of citizens in the digital world.
The government says that the obscene content being created through AI is having a deep negative impact on women, children and society at the mental and social level. For this reason the use of Grok has been categorized as digital based violence.
Summons sent to
According to media reports, the Indonesian government has also issued formal summons to the officials of X (earlier Twitter). Now the company will have to clarify what kind of losses are being caused by Grok’s current system and what concrete technical steps are being taken to stop them.
The government has made it clear that this ban on Grok is temporary but its future will depend on how strictly the company implements content filters and ethical AI rules.
Elon Musk’s changed stance
Amidst this controversy, Elon Musk and xAI had warned users that those using Grok wrongly or illegally may have to face legal action. Musk had said that creating illegal content will attract the same punishment as uploading such content.
However, after severe criticism, Musk’s stance seemed to have changed. He reposted a post in which it was said that the responsibility of creating deepfake images lies not with the platform but with the users.
Pressure increased in America also
The matter is not limited to Indonesia only. Three US senators have written letters to Google and Apple demanding that they remove Grok and X apps from their app stores. They allege that these apps are violating their rules by allowing non-consensual sexual images of women and children to be created.
AI freedom versus responsibility
This controversy over Grok once again raises the question as to how important is the responsibility of AI along with its power. If there is no proper control then technology can become a threat to the society instead of progress.
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