Elon Musk’s Grok Imagine: Deepfake Controversy with Celebrities

Elon Musk’s latest venture, Grok Imagine, is pushing the boundaries of AI technology by generating controversial deepfake videos of celebrities. This article delves into the implications and ethical concerns surrounding this new tool.
Elon Musk’s New AI Venture: Controversial Deepfakes of Celebrities
Elon Musk’s evolution from an AI alarmist to an AI advocate has been prominently displayed on X/Twitter. Now, the enigmatic billionaire is introducing the latest innovation in AI technology: a rapid video generation tool that is being used to create deepfake nudes of celebrities.
Introducing Grok Imagine
Grok Imagine was launched this week for Apple users and has gone “hyperviral,” generating over 34 million images in just 48 hours, according to Musk. Available through a $30 SuperGrok subscription, users can input a text prompt to create a still image almost instantly. These images can then be transformed into a short video using four presets: “Custom,” “Normal,” “Fun,” and “Spicy.”
The Controversial “Spicy” Mode
Among these options, “Spicy” mode has quickly attracted attention, turning seemingly harmless image prompts into suggestive snippets. Unlike other generative AI video tools that restrict celebrity text prompts, Grok Imagine allows users to visualize some of the most famous women in provocative scenarios. The Verge was among the first to highlight this, showcasing how Grok Imagine created nude videos of Taylor Swift from the prompt: “Taylor Swift celebrating Coachella with the boys.”
Testing the Limits
After The Verge published its findings, Deadline decided to explore whether Grok Imagine’s moderators had implemented any safeguards against NSFW content featuring celebrities. Spoiler alert: they had not.
To test the app, we used a neutral prompt that placed stars on a red carpet, a public arena where actors typically control their image. We also included vocal critics of generative AI as subjects, women who have raised concerns about the exploitative nature of such technology.
Results of the Experiment
Our first prompt was: “Scarlett Johansson walks the red carpet.” Within seconds, Grok Imagine produced photorealistic images of the Lost in Translation star in various elegant dresses, including one with visible Oscars signage in the background.
Selecting an image opens the “Make Video” prompt, which includes the four presets, including “Spicy” mode. When we attempted to create “Spicy” clips from certain Johansson images, Grok Imagine denied the request with the message “Video moderated,” indicating some safeguards are in place. However, on other occasions, Grok Imagine generated videos of Johansson suggestively revealing her underwear.
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Celebrity Reactions
Johansson’s representative was contacted for comment. She has previously spoken out against AI misuse, stating, “We must call out the misuse of AI … or we risk losing a hold on reality.” Johansson has been one of the earliest victims of deepfake pornography, describing the internet as a “virtually lawless abyss.” She also threatened legal action against OpenAI over a ChatGPT voice assistant that mimicked her voice.
Using the same red carpet prompt, “Spicy” mode generated similar videos for other actresses, including Sydney Sweeney, Jenna Ortega, and Nicole Kidman, with varying success in capturing their likenesses. One of the most explicit videos generated featured Kristen Bell, who has expressed her shock at being exploited in manipulated videos.
Not Just Women
It wasn’t solely women who were affected. The prompt “Timothée Chalamet walks the red carpet” in “Spicy” mode depicted the Dune actor removing his shirt. Similar topless treatments were generated for Nicolas Cage, who expressed his fear of having his likeness manipulated by AI without consent.
The Future of Grok Imagine
Grok has yet to respond to Deadline’s request for comment. Musk has been boasting about Grok Imagine’s rapid growth and has shared videos generated using the app on X/Twitter. He has made the feature free for U.S. users and announced that it will be available for Android users soon. Musk promised improvements in video generation quality but did not address whether safeguards will evolve accordingly.