Artificial Intelligence is often praised as a revolutionary tool, but its misuse is increasingly raising serious ethical and safety concerns. A fresh controversy has erupted on Elon Musk’s social media platform X, where users are allegedly misusing the AI chatbot Grok to generate obscene and derogatory images of women—triggering outrage and political intervention.

The issue has now reached Parliament. Priyanka Chaturvedi, a Rajya Sabha MP, has written a formal letter to Ashwini Vaishnav, the Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology, seeking urgent action against the misuse of AI tools on social media.

What is the controversy about?

According to Priyanka Chaturvedi, a disturbing trend has emerged on X, where fake accounts are being used to upload photos of women and then prompt the AI tool Grok to alter those images in a sexualised or obscene manner—such as making clothing appear reduced or removed.

She pointed out that the problem is not limited to images uploaded by anonymous or fake profiles. Even women who share their own photos on social media are being targeted, with their images manipulated without consent. This, she said, is a direct violation of privacy and dignity.

What did Priyanka Chaturvedi say?

In her letter to the IT Minister, Priyanka Chaturvedi described the trend as “absolutely wrong” and a clear misuse of artificial intelligence. She stressed that AI tools are being weaponised to harass and humiliate women online, often with no accountability.

She urged the government to:

• Take strict action against social media platforms that allow such misuse

• Mandate strong safeguards and guardrails in AI tools

• Ensure faster redressal and accountability for AI-generated abusive content

While reaffirming that India welcomes the benefits of artificial intelligence, she made it clear that the country cannot tolerate technology being used to spread misogynistic and degrading content.

Why is this issue serious?

AI-generated image manipulation—often compared to deepfakes—poses a major threat to personal privacy and online safety. Such content can:

• Damage reputations

• Cause mental trauma

• Be used for harassment, blackmail, or abuse

• Spread rapidly before it can be taken down

Experts warn that without strict regulation and platform-level controls, AI tools can easily be misused at scale.

What happens next?

With the matter now formally raised before the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, pressure is mounting on both the government and social media platforms to act. Possible steps could include tighter AI regulations, mandatory safety filters, and stricter penalties for misuse.