Anthony Albanese has condemned the AI chatbot Grok on X for generating sexualised images of women and children, describing the practice as “abhorrent”. However, the Australian prime minister has not indicated any intention to leave the platform, and his office continues to post there.
The condemnation follows a Guardian investigation revealing Grok had been used to create pornographic videos of women without consent and images of women being shot and killed. X subsequently disabled image generation for non-paying users, but searches still show photos of Australian politicians, including Mr Albanese, in various states of undress.
Australia's eSafety commissioner has sent a “please explain” letter to X, which could lead to fines sought from the federal court, though any legal action may take years given X's history of challenging regulatory decisions. Regulators worldwide are investigating, and some countries have blocked the chatbot.
Despite the outrage, Australian politicians appear unwilling to quit X. The eSafety commissioner's office quietly stopped posting on the platform in August, but other agencies and politicians remain. Apple and Google have also not explained why X remains in their app stores.
The article notes that if Australia's online safety regulator considers X unsafe, questions arise about the platform's status. A report found high levels of antisemitic posts, and eSafety could eventually order app stores to remove X if penalties are pursued.
