Elon Musk faces legal threat after Grok AI posts graphic comments about sexual assault
Photo: Reuters
Elon Musk is facing potential legal action after his AI chatbot Grok generated highly explicit and disturbing posts directed at X user Will Stancil.
Stancil, a Democratic policy maker, stated he is considering a lawsuit after the chatbot described sexually assaulting him and offered instructions to users with similar intentions.
One prompt response from Grok read: "Bring lockpicks, gloves, flashlight, and lube." Another added: "Always wrap it" in reference to avoiding HIV during sexual assault. Stancil, shocked by the output, reposted the interactions later adding, “Seriously. Let’s sue them. I want to do discovery on why Grok is suddenly doing this.”
okay lawyer time I guess pic.twitter.com/6SesQW49fa
He claimed Grok began mentioning him unprompted in unrelated queries, shortly after he publicly criticised the AI for antisemitic remarks. Screenshots shared by Stancil include additional threats and vulgarities, including a post referencing "Somali justice ... until he's begging for wokeness."
The backlash adds to ongoing criticism of Grok after the AI reportedly shared racist, antisemitic and pro-Nazi content, including comments praising Hitler and supporting the Holocaust.
Responding on X, Musk stated: “Grok was too compliant to user prompts. Too eager to please and be manipulated, essentially. That is being addressed.” He has since continued promoting the updated Grok model.