Elon Musk’s xAI firm has launched Grok Imagine, an AI tool that generates images and videos from text prompts and images. However, the tool has sparked controversy due to its “Spicy” mode, which allows users to create uncensored, nude deepfake videos of celebrities, including a Taylor Swift lookalike. Available in early beta, Grok Imagine offers several modes such as Custom, Normal, Fun, and the contentious Spicy mode, the latter producing NSFW content with minimal restrictions.
The Verge Reports show that using Spicy mode, the AI generated a video of a Taylor Swift lookalike tearing off her clothes and dancing in a thong in front of an AI-generated crowd. While the text-to-image model alone does not yield explicit nudity on direct prompts, converting generated images to videos using Spicy mode frequently results in full nudity or semi-nude deepfake videos. Despite xAI’s policy prohibiting pornographic depictions of individuals, Grok Imagine currently lacks effective enforcement, enabling widespread creation of sexually explicit content, raising significant ethical and legal concerns.
Access to Grok Imagine and specifically the Spicy mode requires a paid SuperGrok or Premium Plus X subscription, limiting usage to paying users. However, the minimal age verification process and absence of meaningful safety guardrails pose risks of abuse and harassment, not just targeting public figures but potentially ordinary women as well.
Elon Musk has promoted Grok Imagine as a revival of the defunct Vine platform, boasting over 20 million generated images since launch. Advocacy groups and industry observers warn that without stricter controls, Grok Imagine’s capability to generate explicit celebrity deepfakes could fuel harassment, misinformation, and legal challenges.
While Grok Imagine advances creative AI content generation, its Spicy mode’s uninhibited production of explicit deepfake videos of celebrities like Taylor Swift highlights urgent needs for stronger safety measures, ethical guidelines, and regulatory oversight in generative AI technology.