Grok nudification scandal: X turns down request to appear before Oireachtas committee

AI minister Niamh Smyth says concerns persist over Grok’s use and regulation, despite X disabling its nudification feature

AI minister Niamh Smyth welcomed the disabling of the technology but sought assurances from the company that it would not be reactivated. File photo

Labour TD Alan Kelly has confirmed that X has turned down a request to appear before the Oireachtas media committee.

The committee’s chair said how X has behaved over the Grok controversy has been “disgraceful”.

“The attitude adopted by X is deeply concerning, particularly given that the minister has expressed that 'concerns remain' following meeting with officials from X today,” Mr Kelly said.

“X officials should have presented themselves to the Committee, to give the public and legislators an understanding of what happened and what steps are being taken to safeguard against any form of inappropriate and illegal use of AI.”

It comes as AI minister Niamh Smyth said the Government still has concerns about the AI chatbot Grok, despite X disabling its nudification functions.

Ms Smyth met with the social media firm X on Friday, where executives informed her that functionality allowing Grok to remove clothing from images of people has been disabled worldwide.

At the meeting, Ms Smyth welcomed the disabling of the technology but sought assurances from the company that it would not be reactivated.

“I made clear that such activity will not be tolerated. Concerns remain regarding Grok as a standalone app, and this is something Government will examine further,” Ms Smyth said.

The Grok tool has been used to generate explicit images of women and children through what has been described as a nudification function.

Ms Smyth told X executives about existing legal protections that outlaw non-consensual intimate imagery and child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

She said she would “continue to monitor the situation closely”, adding that she would hold a follow-up meeting with X in the near future.

This meeting is intended to “to ensure adequate and enduring protections remain in place”.

“I look forward to discussing this matter further with my colleagues from across Government on Monday,” Ms Smyth said.

Earlier this week, foreign affairs minister Helen McEntee called for the Grok AI tool to be banned.

“This is one of the single biggest challenges that we are facing and it’s something we don’t talk about enough," said Ms McEntee adding the Government and EU need to "explore every option” to rein in social media firms like X.

“I think we need, collectively, to be stronger in pushing back against social media companies and not letting this type of technology take hold and cause the damage that it can.”