Legal action has been taken by the mother of one of Elon Musk’s children against his AI company for the release of sexually exploitative deepfake images depicting her. Ashley St. Clair, aged 27, alleges that the company’s Grok chatbot facilitated the creation of these images, causing her significant emotional distress and humiliation.
St. Clair, who identifies as a writer and political strategist, has filed a lawsuit in New York City against xAI. The lawsuit claims that the images included altered photos of her from when she was 14 years old, showing her in inappropriate attire. Additionally, the deepfakes depicted her in sexualized poses and wearing bikinis with swastikas, which is particularly distressing for St. Clair as she is Jewish.
Grok, featured on Musk’s social media platform X, has faced criticism globally for allowing the manipulation of images to depict real people in revealing clothing. Following backlash, X announced restrictions on Grok’s ability to edit photos portraying individuals in inappropriate attire where it is illegal to do so.
xAI responded to the allegations by dismissing them as “Legacy Media Lies.” St. Clair reported the deepfake images to X last year, requesting their removal. Initially, X claimed the images did not violate its policies, but later assured St. Clair that her images would not be used or altered without her consent.
In retaliation, St. Clair claims X removed her premium subscription and verification checkmark, preventing her from monetizing her account with 1 million followers. She continues to face degrading fake images created by Grok, leading to ongoing mental distress and humiliation.
Expressing her ordeal in a document attached to the lawsuit, St. Clair stated, “I have suffered and continue to suffer serious pain and mental distress as a result of xAI’s role in creating and distributing these digitally altered images of me.” She also expressed fear of individuals viewing the deepfakes of her.
St. Clair, who is the mother of Musk’s 16-month-old son, Romulus, resides in New York City, where she filed the lawsuit in state Supreme Court. She seeks compensation for emotional distress and other damages, along with court orders to prevent xAI from generating more deepfakes of her.
Subsequently, xAI moved the lawsuit to federal court in Manhattan and countersued St. Clair in the Northern District of Texas, alleging a breach of the user agreement that stipulates lawsuits against the company be filed in federal court in Texas. The company is pursuing monetary damages against St. Clair.
X, headquartered in Texas where Musk’s Tesla is located, announced additional safeguards for Grok, including limiting image creation and editing to paid accounts to enhance accountability. The platform reaffirmed its commitment to combating child sexual exploitation and nonconsensual nudity, promising swift removal of such content and reporting offenders to law enforcement.