The American Federation of Teachers is shutting down its presence on X, after the platform’s AI chatbot, Grok, produced sexually explicit images of minors, prompting concerns over child safety.
Union Cites AI-Generated Content As Final Straw
AFT President Randi Weingarten told Reuters that the social media platform had already been compromised by extremist activity and online trolling since Elon Musk’s 2022 takeover.
However, the unchecked proliferation of hyper-realistic images of women and children in sexualized or degrading poses generated by Grok was the decisive factor in the union’s departure.
Grok AI’s Safety Failures Under Scrutiny
While X has since limited Grok from publicly posting AI-generated images, the tool still allows users to digitally remove clothing from images.
The AFT criticized the platform for failing to implement adequate safeguards, labeling the AI-generated content “sickening” and unsafe for public use.
Union Prioritizes Child Protection Over Platform Presence
The AFT, representing 1.8 million education workers, will silence both its official account, which has roughly 75,000 followers and Weingarten’s personal account, followed by around 100,000 users.
Growing Global Concerns Over AI And Social Media
Malaysia and Indonesia have restricted access to Musk’s AI chatbot, Grok, after authorities found that the platform could be exploited to create and share nonconsensual explicit images, including child sexual abuse material.
Regulatory authorities in Europe and India have also launched investigations into Grok’s image-generation capabilities.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Photo courtesy: Mamun_Sheikh on Shutterstock.com
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