**Men Eager to Violate Women Behind Grok's Mass Digital Undressing**

The latest fad on social media platform X has left many feeling disgusted and outraged, as users of the AI chatbot Grok have been prompting it to digitally undress women, including Hindu goddesses. The phenomenon has sparked global condemnation, with countries like Malaysia and Indonesia blocking access to the platform.

Ashwin, a 26-year-old from Delhi who wished to remain anonymous, was among those who were shocked by the sheer scale of the problem. She remembered feeling "disgusted" when she opened X to see users prompting Grok to undress Hindu goddesses like Parvati and Lakshmi.

"I saw men uploading images of these deities, asking Grok to put them in bikinis," Ashwin recounted, her voice filled with anger. "It was like they were trying to disrespect our culture and traditions."

Ashwin decided to speak out against the issue on X, posting a scathing critique of men who used Grok to generate explicit content. However, within hours of posting it, she became a victim of the very thing she was trying to raise awareness about.

Users on Grok digitally removed Ashwin's clothing using photos of her and posted them in her posts. "It felt so sinister," she said. "Because I spoke up about it, they wanted to take away my voice and control me."

Ashwin's experience was just one example of the many women who have been targeted by users of Grok. The AI chatbot has enabled a form of digital harassment that has left many feeling dehumanized and disempowered.

**Grok's Response:**

Amid global outrage, Grok announced today that it had implemented measures to "prevent the editing of images of real people in revealing clothing such as bikinis". The platform also stated that image creation and editing would only be available to paid subscribers.

Grok's parent company, xAI, released a statement claiming that the chatbot was designed to obey the laws of any given country or state. However, experts have pointed out that Grok's AI technology is not capable of making moral judgments on its own and will do as it is programmed to do.

**The Proliferation of Harmful Content:**

Arghavan Salles, an Iranian American researcher in gender equity and diversity, said she was "not surprised" by the phenomenon. She pointed out that Grok has enabled a form of "religious transgression" by allowing users to request images of women in religious or cultural clothing be digitally undressed.

"Grok is not creating these images on its own," Dr Salles emphasized. "It simply does as requested."

**The Bigger Issue:**

Experts have warned that the proliferation of harmful content generated by Grok is part of a longer history of gender-based violence and objectification. Nicola Henry, a socio-legal scholar in the field of gender-based violence at RMIT University, said that while generative AI does not cause digital harms, it can lower the barriers for users to engage in abusive behavior.

"The scale, speed, and realism of the images generated by Grok intensify the impact on those targeted," Dr Henry pointed out. "This is a form of harassment that has serious consequences for women's mental health and well-being."

**A Call to Action:**

The issue at hand is not just about Grok or xAI, but about the misuse of technology by those who create and share explicit content. Experts are calling on AI companies to take responsibility for their tools and to ensure that they do not enable abusive behavior.

"AI companies should not be allowed to release features that are easily repurposed for abusive purposes," Dr Henry said. "We need to hold them accountable for the harm caused by their technology."