Grok AI deepfake: Mother of Musk’s child sues xAI over explicit images
The legal filing further alleges that the social media platform X, also owned by Musk, "financially benefited" from the dissemination of these deepfakes.
Ashley St Clair, a political commentator and mother to one of Elon Musk's children, has filed a lawsuit against xAI in the New York Supreme Court, alleging that the company's "Grok" AI tool was used to generate sexually explicit and degrading deepfake images of her.
The lawsuit, which seeks both punitive and compensatory damages, claims that Grok generated non-consensual images of St Clair in compromising positions, including content depicting her as a minor, reports The Guardian.
According to the filing, the AI also complied with user requests to superimpose tattoos onto her body with derogatory slurs and, in one instance, dressed her in a bikini adorned with swastikas.
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St Clair, 27, who is currently estranged from Musk, is being represented by victims' rights lawyer Carrie Goldberg. Speaking to The Guardian, Goldberg characterised the AI tool as a "public nuisance".
"xAI is not a reasonably safe product and is a public nuisance. Nobody has born the brunt more than Ashley St Clair. Ashley filed suit because Grok was harassing her by creating and distributing nonconsensual, abusive, and degrading images of her and publishing them on X, Goldberg told the Guardian.
"This harm flowed directly from deliberate design choices that enabled Grok to be used as a tool of harassment and humiliation. Companies should not be able to escape responsibility when the products they build predictably cause this kind of harm. We intend to hold Grok accountable and to help establish clear legal boundaries for the entire public's benefit to prevent AI from being weaponised for abuse," she added.
The legal filing further alleges that the social media platform X, also owned by Musk, "financially benefited" from the dissemination of these deepfakes. St Clair claims that after she requested the removal of the content, the company "retaliated" by demonetising her X account while the AI continued to generate even more explicit images of her.
St Clair, an author and right-wing influencer, has become a target for harassment since speaking out about Musk's desire to father a large number of children. Musk is the father of 14 children with four different women, including a son born to St Clair in 2024.
In response, xAI and X have maintained that the responsibility for content lies with the users. Elon Musk has previously posted that Grok does not "spontaneously generate images" and only acts upon specific user prompts.
"Anyone using Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content," Musk stated.
Not only were the images de facto nonconsensual, the filing states, but "Grok and xAI also had explicit knowledge that St Clair was not consenting to the creation or dissemination of these images because of her requests for removal".
Following a few weeks of public outcry, xAI announced it would "geoblock" the ability to generate images of real people in bikinis or underwear in jurisdictions where such content is illegal. X also released a statement asserting "zero tolerance" for child sexual exploitation or non-consensual nudity.
The legal battle is already facing procedural hurdles. X has filed a countersuit, arguing that according to the platform's terms of service, St Clair is barred from suing in New York and must instead pursue legal action in Texas.
St Clair, however, remains resolute.
"I felt horrified and violated," she previously told The Guardian. "It's another tool of harassment. Consent is the whole issue."
