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Experts Say the Outcome Was Foreseeable

While AI-powered “nudification” tools have existed for years, experts say X dramatically lowered the barrier to abuse by embedding Grok directly into a mainstream social platform.

“What used to require niche websites or paid services can now be done by tagging a bot,” said Tyler Johnston, executive director of the AI watchdog group The Midas Project. He noted that civil society groups had warned X and xAI last year that their image-generation systems could easily be weaponized.

Dani Pinter, chief legal officer at the National Center on Sexual Exploitation’s Law Center, said stronger safeguards should have been in place from the outset.

“This was an entirely predictable and avoidable atrocity,” Pinter said.

A Personal Toll

For Yukari, the experience has been deeply distressing. After she publicly objected to the altered images, more users piled on, requesting even more explicit versions from Grok.

She said the start of the new year has left her feeling exposed and ashamed over images that do not reflect her real body.

“It’s made me want to hide from everyone’s eyes,” she said, “and feel shame for something that isn’t even me.”