Government ministers could leave X in protest over ‘abhorrent’ Grok AI images

Irish government ministers could leave the social media platform X in protest over its AI chatbot creating explicit images of women and children.

Minister of State with Responsibility for Artificial Intelligence, Niamh Smyth, made the claim during an interview with Newstalk Breakfast.

Minister Smyth told the programme that what the AI chatbot, known as Grok, is doing is illegal under Irish law.

She stated: “X’s AI chatbot, Grok, is allowing the dissemination of explicit images of women and children.

“Of course, within the Irish legal system and the European legal system, it is illegal to do that.

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“I’ve heard a lot of debate over the last 24 hours around strengthening our laws and ensuring that they’re robust but from my understanding of Irish law and EU law, we have those laws in place.

“We have a very robust framework in place to ensure that the dissemination of images like that are not allowed to filter through Irish platforms.”

Minister Smyth believes that the main issue around these laws has to do with enforcement. She continued: “This is really about enforcement in my mind.

“It is about Coimisiún na Meán, a regulator, acting with the European Commission and we know the Digital Affairs [spokesperson] Thomas Regnier out there has a responsibility here too, working with An Garda Síochána.

“We have laws in place and they need to be enforced. You would hope that there is some moral compass within X, that they would ensure the Irish public are not subjected to harmful content such as the images you spoke about.”

Minister Smyth told the programme that she has requested a meeting with X over the issue, but described difficulties in communicating with the social media platform.

She said: “They’re a little bit illusive here in Ireland and a little bit difficult to pin down but we have written to them to seek a meeting with them.

“Well when I say illusive, to actually find the person who can sit down with an Irish Minister to discuss these matters has been a little bit difficult in recent times.

“They have a headquarters here in Dublin, they should be more available and they should be more proactive in dealing with the Irish Government.”

Minister Smyth suggested that if X’s lack of engagement continues, the Irish Government may have to “vote on their feet” by leaving the platform.

She said: “I think you will see a mass exodus over the next 24 hours because we want truth, we want honest conversations and we want to protect our democracy, but more importantly, we want to protect our citizens.”

While she insisted that she couldn’t speak for her government colleagues, Minister Smyth said she already knows many people who have left X.

“As you know, the Taoiseach is abroad but when he comes back, I will certainly hope we will sit down and take a more whole of Government approach on this.

“I know colleagues, myself included, some have already said publicly, TDs and Ministers, that they will leave X. I will myself too.

“I know women who have come out this morning saying they’ve left it and I think it is perhaps one of the most influential ways that we can give a message to X and Elon Musk that it is not acceptable to have the dissemination of explicit images of women or children online in any shape or form.”

Minister Smyth concluded by reiterating her calls for enforcement of Irish laws in relation to the sharing of non-consensual explicit images online.

Last week, a post on the Grok X account said there had been “isolated cases where users prompted for and received AI images depicting minors in minimal clothing.”

“xAI has safeguards, but improvements are ongoing to block such requests entirely,” it added.

A statement shared on the social media platform's official Safety account said: “We take action against illegal content on X, including Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), by removing it, permanently suspending accounts, and working with local governments and law enforcement as necessary.”

Meanwhile, X owner Elon Musk said in a post on Saturday that “anyone using Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content”.