Laws against using people’s images in AI to be fast-tracked
New laws criminalising the use of people’s voices and images in artificial intelligence are set to be fast-tracked following controversy over the generation of sexual imagery of children on the social media platform X, writes Muiris Ó Cearbhaill.
Government lawyers are investigating existing legislation to see how Ireland can act against the Elon Musk-owned website formerly known as Twitter, over the creation of the illegal content using its AI bot Grok, it is understood.
X has drawn international condemnation over the scandal surrounding Grok, which has been creating sexualised images of women and children using AI in response to user prompts.
The platform has admitted there have been “isolated cases where users prompted for and received AI images depicting minors in minimal clothing”, and added: “XAI has safeguards, but improvements are ongoing to block such requests entirely.”
The EU has been condemned as “weak” after it confirmed it is not taking any immediate action against the images, which are becoming a daily feature on the platform.
The European Commission said yesterday that it has only asked the social media company to retain its files on AI for a year.
X stated this week that improvements to the service are ‘ongoing’, despite having the ability to remove the feature entirely.
Laws criminalising the use of private citizens’ images and voices are set to be fast-tracked as politicians here seek stronger powers to regulate AI.
The Bill was introduced last year by Fianna Fáil TD Malcolm Byrne and seeks to prevent the “weaponisation” of AI.
Fianna Fáil’s AI spokesman Naoise Ó Cearúil, who supported the Bill, said: “We have to be far more able to pivot and shift when issues like this arise.
“At the moment, ourselves and the EU are very, very rigid.”
Minister for Communications Patrick O’Donovan said he believes the individuals who make the requests for the content should be held responsible.
While Mr Ó Cearúil agreed, he said accountability must also be placed on the platform hosting the images and that the matter highlights the need for local regulatory powers.
Interim investigations have been launched by Coimisiún na Meán, Ireland’s media regulator, but it is limited in what actions it can take without the support of its European counterparts.
Strict laws on social media platforms with over 45 million users, mandating moderation, were introduced last year but place regulatory responsibilities with the European Commission.
Minister for AI Niamh Smyth is expected to grill officials from Coimisiún na Meán during a meeting next week on what steps are being taken to hold X accountable.
Mr Ó Cearúil said on Tuesday: “How much of an investigation is needed when you see a young woman with her clothes off, due to a request to Grok on X? It’s pretty straightforward.”
His remarks were echoed by Fine Gael MEP Regina Doherty, who said she believes the EU is “weak” in respect of digital regulation.
She said: “It’s not good enough. I feel like I’m in a parallel world. There’s so much going on that is so wrong, and everybody is saying, ‘Maybe we’ll talk about it next week’.
X has drawn international condemnation over the scandal surrounding Grok, which has been creating sexualised images of women and children using AI in response to user prompts. (Photo Illustration by Mateusz Slodkowski/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
“There’s nothing to look into. What is happening at the moment is absolutely illegal.”
She believes there’s a reluctance to act over fears of retaliation from the Trump administration in the US, which has previously criticised EU regulations on American tech firms.
Ms Doherty added that the EU is also reliant on the US in external geopolitical matters in Venezuela, Greenland, and Ukraine, leading to it being “absolutely hamstrung in enforcement of the rule of law”.
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