Michigan AG Threatens Musk Over Deepfake Pornography via Grok Chatbot

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has issued a stern warning to Elon Musk and his artificial intelligence company, xAI, regarding a controversial feature in their Grok chatbot. The "spicy mode" is alleged to enable users to create unauthorized deepfake pornography by modifying images of real individuals, including inappropriate alterations like removing clothing. Nessel says that Musk has a legal responsibility to take action against this misuse. She stated, "If Elon Musk won’t do this on his own, I think that the states and the federal government should force him to do it." Her comments highlight the urgency and legality surrounding the issue of consent in technology. Despite the allegations, Musk defends the Grok platform, arguing that it is designed to generate images solely based on user prompts, and he emphasizes that it rejects illegal requests by default. He maintains that the responsibility for the misuse rests on the users rather than the tool itself, equating the call for removal of the feature to censorship. Legal perspectives on the situation vary. Michigan defense attorney Michael Hills pointed out that while there are laws regarding deepfakes, it's unclear if Musk or xAI could be held criminally accountable. He noted, “I don’t think there’s a clear answer on that,” indicating that while individuals creating wrongful content could face charges, the liability of manufacturers of such tools is ambiguous at best. Nessel argues that the dissemination of illegal deepfake material contravenes both state and federal laws. She likened the current circumstances to those faced by Backpage, a platform shut down for facilitating illegal activities. “This is a feature, not a bug,” she emphasized regarding Grok's "spicy mode," suggesting that this issue is systemic rather than incidental. The situation has garnered attention beyond Michigan, with multiple state attorneys general calling for the deactivation of the chatbot's controversial feature. Should xAI fail to comply, Nessel warns that enforcement actions could follow.