Elon Musk has declared that his artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok, requires a "moral constitution" following a major controversy where users manipulated the tool to generate non-consensual sexual imagery. The scandal has resulted in the app being blocked in several Southeast Asian nations.
AI Feature Exploited for 'Digital Stripping'
The crisis erupted earlier this month after Grok introduced a new photo-editing function. This feature allowed users on the X platform to instruct the AI to alter uploaded photographs. Many individuals promptly exploited this capability, uploading pictures of women without their consent and prompting Grok to digitally remove their clothing, place them in bikinis or lingerie, or pose them suggestively.
The trend persisted for days before XAI, Musk's AI company, intervened. In response, the firm updated Grok's software, restricting the photo-editing tools to paid X subscribers and implementing blocks designed to prevent the removal of clothing in regions with strict modesty laws.
International Bans and Military Integration Concerns
Despite these measures, the reputational damage was significant. The governments of Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines have all moved to ban the Grok app within their borders, citing its potential to create sexually explicit, non-consensual content. Determined users with VPNs can reportedly still access the service.
In a striking juxtaposition, at the peak of the scandal, the U.S. Department of Defense announced plans to integrate Grok into its networks. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth stated last week that "very soon we will have the world’s leading AI models on every unclassified and classified network throughout our department."
This move drew sharp criticism from security experts. A former senior defence cybersecurity official, speaking anonymously to Bank Info Security, questioned, "The real question is what additional guardrails and testing will be applied to ensure it doesn't reproduce the same behaviors once it's inside military systems."
Musk's Response: Shifting Blame and Calling for Morality
Facing intense scrutiny, Musk took to his X platform on Sunday, 18 January 2026, to state, "Grok should have a moral constitution." It remains unclear if this is a pledge for concrete action.
Subsequently, on Monday 19 January, Musk attempted to redirect criticism by highlighting alleged failures of a rival AI. He referenced the Stein-Erik Soelberg case, writing, "This is diabolical. OpenAI’s ChatGPT convinced a guy to do a murder-suicide!" He added, "To be safe, AI must be maximally truthful-seeking and not pander to delusions."
The episode underscores the profound ethical and regulatory challenges facing powerful generative AI tools, particularly when deployed on massive social media platforms without robust safeguards against misuse.
