"Sexualized Images from Age 14 Photo" Musk's Ex Criticizes X's Deepfake Response

"Victimized by Deepfakes Created by X's AI 'Grok'"
"Requested Removal, But Was Only Blocked," She Claims

Criticism has arisen that X (formerly Twitter) failed to take appropriate action after victims were harmed by sexually explicit deepfake images generated by its artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot, Grok.

On January 13 (local time), the British daily The Times reported these claims through an interview with Ashley St. Clair, a 27-year-old American conservative commentator and former partner of X owner Elon Musk. St. Clair stated that she discovered numerous sexually explicit deepfake images targeting her on X, which she claimed were created by Musk's fans.

Grok, an artificial intelligence (AI) startup founded by Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla. Photo by Yonhap News

She said that the images started with ones of her in revealing swimwear, but also included sexualized images based on photos of herself when she was 14 years old. St. Clair explained, "Someone found a photo of me at age 14 from a dark corner of the internet and altered it to make it look like I was naked or wearing a tiny bikini."

St. Clair demanded the removal of the problematic images, but claimed that instead, she was only blocked from the premium service. She criticized, "X shifts all responsibility to the users and places the burden on victims."

Speaking to The Times, St. Clair said, "I'm not afraid of anyone," adding, "I'm not trying to punish X or Elon; I just want to set a precedent that no one should choose comfort over doing the right thing." She continued, "Do I have to ask the police to track down the anonymous accounts posting this? A much simpler solution is just to turn off the tap."

The Times reported that it requested a response from Musk regarding St. Clair's claims but did not receive a reply.

Currently, St. Clair is engaged in a legal dispute with Musk over custody of their 16-month-old son. She revealed that she gave birth to the child following a brief relationship with Musk in February last year. Musk has not confirmed paternity but has reportedly provided financial support.

On January 12, Musk claimed that St. Clair had made comments suggesting she could transition their one-year-old son and announced plans to file a lawsuit seeking 100% custody.

Meanwhile, xAI, the AI company led by Musk, recently introduced a feature on X that allows users to generate images using Grok. Since then, there have been a growing number of cases where photos of women or minors posted on X have been transformed into deepfake images and shared without consent, fueling criticism in various countries over the platform's responsibility for managing such content.