Indonesia ‘properly’ raises the tires on the Grok

Indonesia has followed Malaysia and the Philippines in lifting the ban on xAI chatbot Grok.

Southeast Asian countries banned Grok after it was used to create a flood of inappropriate, sexualized images on X (now part of xAI), including images of real women and children. In late December and January, Grok was used to create at least 1.8 million sexual images of womenaccording to separate analyzes by The New York Times and the Center for Counting Digital Hate.

In wordsIndonesia’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology said it was lifting the ban after X sent a letter “outlining specific measures to improve services and prevent abuse” (translation via the New York Times).

Alexander Sabar, the head of the ministry’s monitoring of the digital environment, said the ban was being lifted “reasonably” and could be reinstated if “other violations are found.”

Malaysia and the Philippines lifted their restrictions on January 23.

Grok’s exploits have prompted criticism and scrutiny – but limited restrictions – from governments around the world. In the United States, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said his office was research xAI and sent a cease-and-desist letter ordering the company to take immediate action to stop the production of these images.

xAI seems to have taken steps to limit Grok’s abilities, including reducing its AI graphics features to pay subscribers on X. CEO Elon Musk insisted“Anyone who uses Grok to create illegal content will face the same consequences as if they were to send illegal content,” he said.not aware of any nude photos made by Grok.“

Documents released by the Justice Department on Friday surrounding notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein include: at least 16 emails between Musk and Epstein in 2012 and 2013, Musk asked to go to Epstein’s island in the Caribbean and wondered about “the most dangerous party on your island.” Epstein admitted to soliciting at least one girl for prostitution in 2008.

xAI, meanwhile, is is said to be in talks to join Musk’s other two companiesSpaceX and Tesla, ahead of the SpaceX IPO.