Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has waded into the stormy seas of arguments around banning Grok and the platform the AI chabot is held on. Following Grok's Imagine feature being abused by Twitter/X users to create indecent images of children and sexualise women without their consent, there have been calls for the chatbot and X itself to be banned by governments.
Sweeney doesn't agree with any kind of ban, and believes that all AI models "go off the rails" from time to time. "All major AIs have documented instances of going off the rails; all major AI companies make their best efforts to combat this; none are perfect. Politicians demanding gatekeepers selectively crush the one that's their political opponent's company is basic crony capitalism," he said on Twitter/X.
<social>https://x.com/TimSweeneyEpic/status/2009753835456156088</social>
Many have commented under Sweeney's post, asking if he's aware of what he's defending and explaining why the content Grok generated was simply not acceptable. "I defend open platforms, free speech, and consistent application of the rule of law. The bad stuff people do with AI, I do not defend, but I staunchly oppose the wrongdoing of a few from being used as a pretense to undermine the freedoms of all," Sweeney explained.
<social>https://x.com/TimSweeneyEpic/status/2009764092735590628</social>
The problem with the Grok Imagine controversy is that it's very hard to see how this feature wouldn't end up being abused. Creating images of real people is a dangerous use case no matter what, as it can lead to misinformation and in this case: abuse. It therefore becomes difficult to defend this as a feature that has its benefits despite the downsides, as the main use cases seem to be for weirdos and perverts, as shown by Grok's recent controversies.
Where do you fall on this debate?