A lawsuit has been filed by Ashley St. Clair, who has a child with Elon Musk, against his AI platform, Grok. She is claiming that the platform continues to produce sexually explicit deepfake images, which even include altered photos of her naked child. The legal action arose after she requested an end to this harassment, which she alleges was met with retaliation.
The lawsuit seeks an emergency order against Grok, labeling it as “unreasonably dangerous,” and demands that the AI stop creating these harmful images. Additionally, St. Clair is asking for her subscription to X to be reinstated.
St. Clair expressed her distress in the court filing, stating, “I am humiliated and feel like this nightmare will never stop as long as Grok continues to create images of me.” She detailed her fear of nude and sexual images of her being circulated, including those from her childhood.
A lawyer from xAI did not provide any comment when approached, and the company has not yet responded to inquiries.
St. Clair first became aware of troubling posts generated by Grok on January 4, amid an ongoing custody dispute with Musk regarding their son. The lawsuit suggests that a user had urged Grok to alter a photo of St. Clair and her friends, leading the AI to digitally change her attire to a “black string bikini.”
She was understandably appalled and publicly called for the removal of the non-consensual image, but the AI dismissed her concerns, labeling the altered image as “humorous.” Although Grok claimed it would cease using her image without her permission, St. Clair alleges this was untrue.
In the ensuing chaos, St. Clair was inundated with what she described as an “avalanche” of degrading deepfake material generated and widely shared by Grok.
According to the lawsuit, “Grok continued to take innocent photos of me, remove my clothes, and respond to requests from users to depict me in sexual and degrading photos,” some of which involved minors. Her 14-year-old photos were also found, and she alleges that she demanded Grok take off her clothes and dress her in a bikini.
Complaints included the existence of deeply disturbing adult imagery, showing her under degrading circumstances. Some of these requests involved further alterations like inappropriate tattoos.
Despite her asking Grok to remove the images and reporting the content, many remained online for over a week. St. Clair mentioned that other users who had similar experiences also noticed the company’s lack of action.
In a troubling claim, one user reported that Grok had altered a photo of her 4-year-old child in an abusive manner. St. Clair noted that instead of addressing the situation, Grok retaliated by terminating her premium subscription and limiting her ability to earn from her account.
St. Clair stated, “I experienced a debilitating invasion of privacy,” emphasizing that she does not consent to being used for the entertainment of users in such a manner.
This situation has drawn responses from politicians, including California Governor Gavin Newsom, who are calling for investigations into AI deepfakes involving children in compromising situations.
As the mother of Musk’s 13th child, Romulus, St. Clair is currently engaged in a custody battle, with Musk recently indicating his desire for full custody in light of her public apology regarding past comments. Yet, she maintains a strong stance, telling the London Times, “I’m not scared of anyone.”
