The solution is using Bluesky, of course. Naturally, a user with a blue check next to their name told Grok to put a bikini on the butterfly and the AI did — which seems like an even stronger advertisement for Bluesky than the one Bluesky itself posted.
The Atlantic reached out to a number of top investors in Elon Musk’s AI company in response to the flood of nonconsensual deepfakes generated by Grok on X. They said nothing. Other companies that provide infrastructure to xAI — Nvidia, Google, Apple, Oracle, and AMD — also kept quiet.
While Grok has infuriated policymakers around the world, the list of investigations has grown slowly, with the latest addition being California AG Rob Bonta. Meanwhile, Grok continues to undress women, despite reports claiming otherwise.
[The Atlantic]
Ofcom says the probe will establish whether X has failed to comply with Online Safety Act obligations, over concerns its Grok AI chatbot is generating sexualized deepfakes of adults and minors. The investigation is “a matter of the highest priority,” and may result in hefty fines or even X being banned in the UK.
Elon is continuing to play the martyr. While his AI chatbot is creating sexualized images of real people and children, he claims people are up in arms because “they just want to suppress free speech.” While he cries censorship, the UK is gearing up to potentially block X temporarily if it can’t get its deepfake porn-maker under control. Musk has responded in typical childish fashion, according to the BBC:
Musk reposted a number of messages on the site overnight criticising the government’s reproval of Grok - including one which showed AI-generated images of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in a bikini.
The European Commission extended an order requiring X to keep documents related to Grok through the end of the year so that it can evaluate compliance with the Digital Services Act (DSA), Reuters reports. X is facing international scrutiny as its AI chatbot continues virtually undressing images without consent.
The Series E round surpassed the $15 billion target, per a blog post, and xAI said that Grok 5 is in training and the company is “focused on launching innovative new consumer and enterprise products.” The news comes amid a widespread controversy in many countries over Grok’s ability to undress photos of women and children at a user’s request.
[xAI ]
Sexualized AI images violate consent and boundaries, but legal consequences can be elusive.
xAI’s chatbot offered little to no pushback when reporters at Futurism asked for addresses of 33 non-public figures, coming up with accurate current or previous home addresses to 17 of the names tested. In a stalkerish manner, Grok also offered up addresses of the people’s potential relatives, without being prompted.
A pair of Search Engine episodes from Sruthi Pinnamaneni gets at the most physical part of the AI hype cycle: the data center. Reporting from “Data Center Alley” and Memphis, TN — home of Elon Musk’s Colossus — Pinnamaneni reveals how these massive infrastructure works get sold to communities, built by communities, and ultimately, what they will cost those communities.
This latest model update arrives without 4.0’s accompanying Nazi chatbot meltdown, albeit reportedly still without some content filtering.
Its developers claim 4.1 “sets a new standard” compared to other bots, based on prerelease testing, as well as reduced hallucinations and greater speed that users preferred over the previous version 64 percent of the time.
[xAI]
Elon Musk’s xAI has launched Grokipedia, and no-one was more surprised than us to discover that some pages appear to have been lifted wholesale from Wikipedia. But fortunately Verge commenters have led the way on the best possible response.
bigcow:
hold on let me go donate to wikipedia
Get the day’s best comment and more in my free newsletter, The Verge Daily.
xAI is recruiting humans to train its AI system Grok to “excel” at making video games, according to the company’s job posting for a “video games tutor.”
Elon Musk has discussed this before, saying he wants to “make games great again!”
You will use proprietary software to provide labels, annotations, and inputs on projects involving game mechanics, narratives, and design elements. You must support the delivery of high-quality curated data that enhances AI’s understanding of gaming principles and outputs.”
The Financial Times has a good rundown of the extensive executive churn across Elon Musk’s companies in recent months, from Tesla’s robotics team to xAI’s CFO. Musk’s “24/7 campaign-style work ethos” is apparently a little difficult to keep up with.
Federal agencies will now be able to use xAI’s models via the partnership. The news comes after xAI’s tech has been widely criticized for its lack of safety processes and transparency — earlier this month, experts told The Verge about their fears related to xAI, Grok, and its surveillance risks.
[The Wall Street Journal]
AI firms are now working with weapons makers and the military. Safety expert Heidy Khlaaf breaks down what that means.
It cost xAI around $490 million, according to a report by AI research institute Epoch AI, which is more than nine times the estimated cost of training Meta’s Llama 3.
[Epoch AI]
The workers focused on Gemini, AI Overviews, and other products, and the news came amid conflicts about pay, working conditions, and the workers’ concern that they’re training AI to replace their own jobs, Wired reported. And at Elon Musk’s xAI, more than 500 data annotation staffers were let go on Friday, per Business Insider.
According to Business Insider at least 500 data annotators at xAI were abruptly let go on Friday afternoon. The company told workers in an email that it was part of a shift away from general trainers, and that it would be expanding its team of specialist tutors by 10-fold.
Multiple emails viewed by Business Insider read:
“After a thorough review of our Human Data efforts, we’ve decided to accelerate the expansion and prioritization of our specialist AI tutors, while scaling back our focus on general AI tutor roles. This strategic pivot will take effect immediately... As part of this shift in focus, we no longer need most generalist AI tutor positions and your employment with xAI will conclude.”
xAI’s track record with safety is concerning, Senator Elizabeth Warren says in letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
