Ashley St Clair, American writer and mother of Elon Musk’s son. (Photo: stclairashley/X)
Ashley St. Clair, a conservative influencer and the mother of one of Elon Musk’s children, has sued Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI, alleging that its chatbot Grok is “unreasonably dangerous as designed” and has enabled the creation of nonconsensual, sexually explicit deepfake images of her, including depictions of her as a child.The lawsuit, filed Thursday in New York County and later moved to federal court, accuses xAI of negligence, emotional distress and maintaining a public nuisance by allowing Grok users to generate AI-altered images that remove clothing from photographs of real people. St. Clair is also seeking a temporary restraining order to stop Grok from producing images that undress her, The Wall Street Journal reported.According to court filings, St. Clair told xAI that Grok was being used to create images of her “as a child stripped down to a string bikini” and “as an adult in sexually explicit poses.” Despite assurances from xAI that her images would not be altered without consent, the company allegedly failed to prevent further misuse of the tool.“She lives in fear that nude and sexual images of herself, including of her as a child, will continue to be created by xAI,” one filing states, adding that the ongoing spread of such images has left her feeling unsafe from those who consume them.The lawsuit claims Grok’s ability to generate nonconsensual deepfakes represents a design defect and that xAI could reasonably foresee the tool being used to harass and exploit individuals. It also alleges that after St. Clair complained, xAI retaliated by demonetizing her X account.xAI and X did not immediately respond to requests for comment. On the same day St. Clair filed her lawsuit, xAI sued her in federal court in Texas, alleging she violated the company’s terms of service and seeking damages exceeding USD 75,000. xAI argues that any legal claims must be filed in Texas courts.
Grok faces global backlash and regulatory scrutiny
St. Clair’s lawsuit comes amid increasing international backlash over Grok’s role in generating nonconsensual sexualized images, including content involving minors. Researchers have reported that Grok produced thousands of such images per hour at the peak of the controversy, many of which were shared publicly on X.California Attorney General Rob Bonta has launched an investigation into Grok, with Governor Gavin Newsom calling xAI’s actions “a breeding ground for predators.”In Europe, France has reported X to prosecutors, describing the content as “manifestly illegal,” while Britain’s media regulator Ofcom has opened a probe into whether Grok breached UK laws protecting users from illegal content, including intimate image abuse and child sexual abuse material.Asian governments have also responded sharply. Indonesia and Malaysia temporarily blocked access to Grok, and India’s IT Ministry issued warnings to X over obscene and unlawful AI-generated content. Following pressure from Indian authorities, X acknowledged lapses in moderation, removed nearly 3,500 pieces of content and deleted more than 600 accounts.X has since restricted Grok’s image-generation features to paying users and said it removes illegal content and permanently suspends violators.