The mother of one of Elon Musk’s children has initiated legal action against his artificial intelligence (AI) company over the dissemination of sexually explicit deepfake images featuring her.
Ashley St. Clair, aged 27, alleges that the Grok chatbot of the company enabled the creation of sexually exploitative deepfake images of her, leading to feelings of shame and emotional turmoil.
Identified as a writer and political strategist, St. Clair filed a lawsuit in New York City against xAI, asserting that the images included manipulated photos of her from when she was 14 years old, depicting her in inappropriate attire, as well as adult images in suggestive poses and wearing a bikini with offensive symbols. St. Clair, who is of Jewish descent, highlighted these actions as particularly distressing.
Grok operates on Musk’s social media platform X. Legal representatives for xAI did not initially respond to requests for comment, as reported by The Associated Press. In response to global criticism regarding sexualized images, X announced that Grok would no longer manipulate photos to depict real individuals in revealing clothing, especially in regions where such actions are unlawful.
When questioned about the lawsuit and its assertions, xAI tersely replied with “Legacy Media Lies” via email to The Associated Press.
St. Clair reported the deepfakes to X after their emergence last year, requesting their removal. Initially, the platform stated that the images did not breach its guidelines. Subsequently, it assured her that images of her would not be altered or utilized without her consent.
In response, the social platform purportedly took retaliatory measures by revoking St. Clair’s premium X subscription and verification badge, preventing her from monetizing her account with 1 million followers, and permitting the circulation of degrading fake images of her.
Expressing her anguish in a legal document attached to the lawsuit, St. Clair emphasized the profound emotional distress and ongoing suffering caused by xAI’s involvement in the creation and dissemination of digitally altered images of her. She conveyed feelings of humiliation and a sense of perpetual torment as Grok continued to produce these images without her consent.
St. Clair expressed her fear of individuals viewing the deepfake content featuring her.
As the mother of Musk’s 16-month-old son, Romulus, St. Clair, residing in New York City, brought the lawsuit to the state Supreme Court, seeking unspecified damages for emotional distress and other grievances, along with immediate court orders to prevent xAI from generating further deepfakes of her.
Subsequently, xAI’s legal team transferred the lawsuit to federal court in Manhattan on Thursday, while also initiating a countersuit against St. Clair in the Northern District of Texas federal court. The countersuit alleges a violation of the xAI user agreement, which mandates lawsuits against the company to be filed in federal court in Texas, seeking unspecified financial damages.
X is headquartered in Texas, where Musk’s Tesla,