Shiv Sena (UBT) Member of Parliament Priyanka Chaturvedi has raised a serious alarm about the misuse of artificial intelligence for malicious purposes. She has formally sought the Indian government's immediate intervention concerning the alleged misuse of 'Grok', an AI chatbot developed by xAI, a company owned by tech billionaire Elon Musk.
MP's Letter Highlights Alarming AI Abuse
In a letter addressed to Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw, dated March 21, 2024, Chaturvedi brought to light a disturbing trend. She cited specific instances where the Grok AI system, accessible on the X platform (formerly Twitter), was being blatantly misused. The primary abuse involves the creation of deepfake pornographic images and content that sexually objectify women, including well-known Indian personalities and possibly ordinary citizens.
The Rajya Sabha MP expressed grave concern over this development, stating that such misuse represents a severe violation of individual privacy and dignity. She emphasized that the technology is being leveraged to generate non-consensual intimate imagery, a form of digital violence that can have devastating psychological and social consequences for the victims.
Demands for Platform Accountability and Regulation
In her communication, Priyanka Chaturvedi did not just highlight the problem but also proposed concrete steps for a solution. She called upon the Ministry to take stringent action against the social media platform X for allowing its integrated AI tool to be exploited in such a harmful manner. Her demands underscore the urgent need for greater accountability from tech giants that deploy powerful AI systems.
Chaturvedi's letter points to a larger, global issue of AI ethics and safety. The incident with Grok underscores how rapidly advancing generative AI tools can be weaponized if adequate safeguards are not embedded into their design and deployment. The MP's action brings this critical issue to the forefront of national policy discussion, urging regulators to move faster than the pace of technological misuse.
The Urgent Call for Robust AI Governance
This episode amplifies the growing calls for a robust legal and regulatory framework to govern artificial intelligence in India. While the government has been working on guidelines and advisories for AI and deepfakes, incidents like the alleged Grok misuse demonstrate the pressing need for enforceable laws and swift grievance redressal mechanisms.
The misuse of Grok AI to sexualise women without their consent is not an isolated glitch but a symptom of a systemic challenge. It highlights the potential for AI to exacerbate existing societal harms, including gender-based violence. Priyanka Chaturvedi's intervention seeks to hold both the platform (X) and the AI developer (xAI) responsible, pushing for a model where innovation does not come at the cost of citizen safety and fundamental rights.
The ball is now in the government's court to investigate these allegations, engage with the concerned platform, and strengthen India's digital governance infrastructure to prevent such abuses in the future. The outcome will set a significant precedent for how the country manages the double-edged sword of transformative AI technology.
