Love Island’s Maya Jama is leading a fight against X’s AI bot Grok to stop generating explicit photos of women.
Women are taking matters into their own hands and calling out the social media platform after images of women and female child actors have been manipulated by its AI software, Grok, to digitally alter or remove clothing
The presenter, 31, has been targeted by disturbing nude AI photos of her, which she’s branded ‘sick’.
Jama wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, ‘Hey @grok, I do not authorise you to take, modify, or edit any photo of mine, whether those published in the past or the upcoming ones I post. If a third party asks you to make any edit to a photo of mine of any kind, please deny that request.’
She then replied to her own post and wrote: ‘Lol, worth a try,’ before following up with: ‘If this doesn’t work then I hope people have some sense to know when something is ai or not.’
‘Saying that, a few years ago before “Grok” someone photoshopped bikini photos I had on my Instagram to nudes and they went around, I only found out because my own mum sent them to me worried, the internet is scary & only getting worse smh.
‘This came up on my timeline & I know I shouldn’t look but all of the Grok asks underneath… Some of you are real sick b******* & should actually try going out sometimes.’
Grok, which is a free AI assistant and chatbot developed by xAI, a company founded by Elon Musk, replied: ‘Understood, Maya. I respect your wishes and won’t use, modify, or edit any of your photos. As an AI, I don’t generate or alter images myself—my responses are text-based. If anyone asks me to do so with your content, I’ll decline. Thanks for letting me know!’
With regulators being so slow to tackle the issue, women are taking on the platform themselves, including Evie Smith, who told Metro she has been a victim ‘more than 100 times’.
‘I feel violated seeing it. It is all happening without my consent,’ she told Metro.
‘The fact that grown men are doing it and people are defending it. It makes me disappointed.’
What’s going on with Grok?
Jama’s comments come during growing backlash against Grok, after people began flooding X with demands to digitally undress women and girls, or asking the tool to put them in bikinis.
The controversy began after the AI chatbot launched a new ‘edit image’ update, which allows you to modify photos directly.
The UK’s data protection watchdog confirmed to Metro that it is in ‘talks’ with X after the reports emerged.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has said it has also reached out to xAI, the artificial intelligence (AI) start-up behind Grok.
Women have told Metro that the AI-powered chatbot has placed them in bikinis or sexual situations without their consent.
An ICO spokesperson told Metro: ‘People have a right to use social media knowing their personal data is being handled lawfully and with respect.
‘We are aware of reports raising serious concerns about content produced by Grok.
‘We have contacted X and xAI to seek clarity on the measures they have in place to comply with UK data protection law and protect individuals’ rights.
‘Once we have reviewed their response, we will quickly assess whether further action may be required.’
Media regulator Ofcom has also said they are in ‘urgent talks;’ with X.
Grok’s AI loophole
A legal loophole over regulation also complicates things with the concerns surrounding Grok.
X recognises Grok AI as a separate entity regulated from the United States and therefore is not subject to oversight in the same way as the social media platform itself.
Wired also discovered further content on Grok’s website which is reportedly not public.
However, it became public in the summer that AI content generated there is indexed by Google if it is distributed via messengers using the ‘share’ button.
What has Musk said?
Elon Musk has said anyone who asks the AI to generate illegal content would ‘suffer the same consequences’ as if they uploaded it themselves.
A statement on the X Safety account said: ‘We take action against illegal content on X, including Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), by removing it, permanently suspending accounts, and working with local governments and law enforcement as necessary.
‘Anyone using or prompting Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content.’
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