Labour MP Jess Asato has launched legal action against Elon Musk's xAI company, alleging its Grok AI tool was used to generate fake sexualised images of her without consent. The images, including one depicting her in a bikini and a video showing her being chloroformed, were created after she criticised the production of such non-consensual pictures.
Asato, MP for Lowestoft, filed a claim at the High Court in London, citing breaches of data protection laws and misuse of private information. The case follows a similar lawsuit in New York by Ashley St Clair, mother of one of Musk's children, who alleged explicit images of her were also generated by Grok.
Lawyer Ravi Naik, representing Asato, said the case centres on the principle that developers must answer for how they design and deploy their tools. He argued that images designed to look like a person and degrade them should be considered images of that person, contrary to xAI's stance.
The UK government threatened action against X in January after Grok produced vast quantities of sexualised imagery based on real women and children. Ofcom launched an inquiry, and X later stopped Grok from editing pictures of real people to show them in revealing clothes.
Asato told the Financial Times her hope is to rebalance individuals' rights against large tech companies that should have put safeguards in place before harming women and children. The case could become a test for holding AI tools and their creators responsible for user-generated content.
