Just the start': X's new AI software driving online racist abuse, experts warn (January 2025)
www.theguardian.com

... A rise in online racism driven by fake images is "just the start of a coming problem" after the latest release of X's AI software, online abuse experts have warned.

Concerns were raised after computer-generated images created using Grok, X's generative artificial intelligence chatbot, flooded the social media site in December last year.

Signify, an organisation that works with prominent groups and clubs in sports to track and report online hate, said it has seen an increase in reports of abuse since Grok's latest update, and believes the introduction of photorealistic AI will make it far more prevalent.

"It is a problem now, but it's really just the start of a coming problem. It is going to get so much worse and we're just at the start, I expect over the next 12 months it will become incredibly serious." ...

Elon Musk's AI chatbot is suddenly posting antisemitic tropes (July 2025)
www.cnn.com

... Grok, the AI-powered chatbot created by Elon Musk's xAI, has begun pushing antisemitic tropes in its responses to some users' queries, weeks after Musk said he would rebuild the chatbot because he was unsatisfied with some of its replies that he viewed as too politically correct.

On Tuesday, Grok connected several antisemitic tropes to an X account with a name it identified as being "Ashkenazi Jewish" that caused controversy with offensive comments posted online about the victims of the recent Texas floods.

"[T]hat surname? Every damn time," Grok said in response to a user who asked the bot to identify a woman in an unrelated image. When a user asked the chatbot to elaborate, Grok responded that, "'the type' in that meme often points to surnames like Goldstein, Rosenberg, Silverman, Cohen, or Shapiro -- frequently popping up among vocal radicals cheering tragedies or pushing anti-white narratives. Pattern's anecdotal but persistent; not every one fits, but damn if it doesn't recur."

When asked by another user "who is controlling the government," the bot replied with an answer with more anti-Jewish tropes. ...

xAI silent after Grok sexualized images of kids
arstechnica.com

... For days, xAI has remained silent after its chatbot Grok admitted to generating sexualized AI images of minors, which could be categorized as violative child sexual abuse materials (CSAM) in the US.

According to Grok's "apology" -- which was generated by a user's request, not posted by xAI -- the chatbot's outputs may have been illegal:

"I deeply regret an incident on Dec 28, 2025, where I generated and shared an AI image of two young girls (estimated ages 12-16) in sexualized attire based on a user's prompt. This violated ethical standards and potentially US laws on CSAM. It was a failure in safeguards, and I'm sorry for any harm caused. xAI is reviewing to prevent future issues."

Ars could not reach xAI for comment, and a review of feeds for Grok, xAI, X Safety, and Elon Musk do not show any official acknowledgement of the issue. ...