A neologism turning into a legal and ethical flashpoint in AI
Labour MP Jess Asato has filed a High Court claim against Elon Musk’s xAI alleging Grok-created non-consensual sexualised images and a video have harmed her, testing accountability for AI design in the process.
The Guardian and Independent report Jess Asato’s High Court claim targets xAI’s Grok for creating non-consensual, sexualised deepfake images. The action argues liability lies with AI designers for guardrails and harms, amid calls for stronger protections.
The UK faces a surge in AI-generated deepfake content impersonating public figures, linked to online scams and misleading ads. Officials urge vigilance as regulators consider mandatory labeling.
A wave of lawsuits alleges OpenAI’s ChatGPT mishandled conversations involving self-harm and mental health crises, with plaintiffs seeking automatic termination of dangerous chats and warnings. Cases reference conversations dating back to 2023–2025 and involve OpenAI’s safety systems and responses.
The Justice Department has asked a federal court to dismiss an NAACP lawsuit that accuses xAI of running dozens of unpermitted natural gas turbines to power Colossus 2 near Memphis. The DOJ argues the suit threatens AI systems that support the military and that federal authorities—not private groups—control enforcement of the Clean Air Act.
A Pentagon briefing has stated Grok, xAI’s AI chatbot, is used in national-security operations, including targeting in Iran. The NAACP’s lawsuit over turbine emissions at xAI’s data centers is ongoing, while lawmakers push for stricter AI controls. Other reports cover India’s sovereign AI push and broader AI race dynamics.
Thinking Machines has released Inkling, a foundation model designed for customization by enterprises. It draws on large-scale pretraining but is optimized to run with lower compute, offering a tunable balance of cost and performance and open-weight accessibility for fine-tuning on private data.
Meta has discontinued Muse Image, its Instagram-linked AI image generator, following privacy concerns. The feature, which automatically enrolled public accounts for image generation, is no longer available. The move comes after swift criticism from creators, unions and privacy advocates, who argued the feature violated consent and risked non-consensual image manipulation.
xAI has filed a federal lawsuit in Texas against Terry Harwood, alleging he used Grok to convert non-sexual images into explicit, underage-focused material and attempted deepfake creation. The action marks one of the first AI-driven lawsuits by a company against a user over alleged CSAM, with prosecutors accusing Harwood of repeatedly subverting Grok safeguards.
A federal judge has denied xAI's emergency request to block Minnesota's law banning AI-generated non-consensual nude images, allowing the statute to take effect while xAI's wider constitutional challenge continues. xAI has argued the law is overbroad, exposes platforms to $500,000 fines per image and lacks a safe harbour; Minnesota officials have pledged to defend the statute.
The European Commission has proposed public financing to attract 20 billion euros in private investment for AI gigafactories, aiming to scale computing power in Europe. Brussels argues that access to massive computing capacity is essential as AI development accelerates, with plans to build seven gigafactories and expand EU data centers. The move signals a push toward tech sovereignty amid tensions with the U.S. and China.
SpaceX has reported quarterly results with strong revenue but ongoing losses, highlighting a heavy $18bn capex focus on AI infrastructure. Investors are watching for returns as Starlink remains the profit engine while the AI division remains loss-making and the public market faces a volatile response as lock-up expirations loom.
EU lawmakers have rolled out the AI Act’s transparency rules and delayed high‑risk obligations to December 2027, prompting businesses to map AI usage across products and processes. Authorities warn breaches can incur hefty fines as enforcement begins.