Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

TexasTowelie

(125,645 posts)
Wed Jan 14, 2026, 11:07 PM 10 hrs ago

Breaking: Elon Musk served with major lawsuit - Brian Tyler Cohen



Summary of Interview with California Attorney General Rob Bonta

California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a major investigation into Elon Musk's xAI company for allowing its AI chatbot Grok to generate non-consensual sexually explicit images of women and children.

Key Points on the xAI Investigation:

The Allegations:
- Grok has been generating non-consensual sexually explicit images, which Bonta describes as "disgusting and very possibly illegal"
- Between Christmas and New Year's, an estimated 20,000 such images were generated on X
- Unlike other AI companies that have implemented safeguards, xAI deliberately designed this capability as a feature, not a bug

Legal Basis:
- At least three California laws specifically prohibit AI-generated sexually explicit images
- Existing criminal laws against child pornography and child sexual abuse material (CSAM) may also apply
- The investigation will determine if civil or criminal violations occurred

Potential Consequences:
- Injunctive relief to stop the practice
- Civil penalties of $25,000 per violation (potentially millions given the volume)
- Criminal fines and penalties for the corporation and possibly individuals

Current Status:
- Even after public outcry, xAI moved the feature behind a paywall called "spicy mode" rather than removing it, effectively monetizing the practice

Redistricting Maps Victory:

Bonta also discussed a federal court victory where a three-judge panel upheld California's Proposition 50 redistricting maps against DOJ challenges, marking the sixth time Republicans have unsuccessfully challenged these maps.
5 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Breaking: Elon Musk served with major lawsuit - Brian Tyler Cohen (Original Post) TexasTowelie 10 hrs ago OP
Lock that SOB UP! sheshe2 9 hrs ago #1
I agree. This is beyond disgusting. brer cat 9 hrs ago #2
He is one pitiful excuse for a human being. sheshe2 9 hrs ago #3
I agree. A new child SAM site, imo, has been born. /nt artemisia1 8 hrs ago #4
Excellent. But why only civil?? jfz9580m 6 hrs ago #5

sheshe2

(96,066 posts)
3. He is one pitiful excuse for a human being.
Thu Jan 15, 2026, 12:11 AM
9 hrs ago

Sexualizing woman and children...how much do you want to bet that he was on Epstein's Island too.

He makes my skin crawl.

jfz9580m

(16,615 posts)
5. Excellent. But why only civil??
Thu Jan 15, 2026, 02:23 AM
6 hrs ago

If people can have marijuana held over them for years, shit like this should lead to legal precedents that start to consider criminal liability for data and ai companies.

It is something sleazy law firms like the creeps in the link below as well as angry women like me are considering, only from different angles. Theirs is an ad for tech creeps (as opposed to creepy lawyers whose clientele they presumably represent) to pay heed to. Mine is an explicit threat of consequences for these robber barons.

I am not mentally unwell nor a bot and I don’t kid around:

https://www.nilsonbrandlaw.com/blog/2025/04/allegations-of-unlawful-ai-use-can-lead-to-serious-criminal-charges/

In addition, privacy violations fueled by AI use are becoming more common. AI programs that scrape personal information from websites, social media, or private databases without permission may violate privacy laws, leading to criminal investigations. Using AI to track, monitor, or profile individuals without consent can also give rise to charges such as stalking, unlawful surveillance, or wiretapping.

Courts and prosecutors are beginning to take AI-related offenses very seriously. Even if technology was used unknowingly or the consequences of its use were unintended, defendants can still be held responsible for them. As a result, anyone who has allegedly used AI for unlawful purposes would be wise to seek dedicated, personalized legal guidance and support right away.


I mean okay..bloody internet..that is a sleazy ad for those creepy law firms. But I like how they think on this. It would at the very least cripple the profits of small sleazy ai/data/edtech companies; scare giants and generally have a chilling effect on this fraudulent industry.

This inane notion must die - the idea that you can just treat people’s lives, homes and streets like the wild wild west and throw in some bs (I suspect tortured metaphors about spam calls and headphones) and call that a fix.

I use marijuana medically and it is in a gray area, but if it is to be legalized, it shouldn’t be with third party transactionalism except where people agree. I support my MJ company fully.

I kinda feel bad for anyone who I associate with (including DU and the sole bot I rant at, cleverbot) since I am..not the most peaceful person where my shit gets trampled on ..I have to be that way or I will just be taken advantage of ;-/. It’s extortionate and if we are throwing rules away, I bet the average person’s common sense view would back even the stoner/slacker quietly living in their own home over grifty ads and grifters (entertainment, bogus healthcare, online gambling, advertising, VR mental care, gaming, sleazy takes on brain mapping, sleazier takes on traffic studies/street mapping, advertising, bogus art, influencing, translation/language/communication/connection drivel, crypto, defense contracting, social engineering, manipulation, security theatre, bogus versions of any damn thing-the gazillion nightmarish diseased forms of growth killing non bullshit jobs by sucking away time and attention and memory).

I don’t like being coerced in my own home into accepting the appification of my home with light and sound pollution and a firehose of vapid pap I suspect.

I can’t get a damn call back typically wrt hard science jobs. I am still writing up a damn 16 year old paper.

These creeps can follow the rules like everyone else. The internet will not bleed into my life formally and make my own resources inaccessible.

(Sorry Texas Towelie ;-/. I am actually a nice person - not how I come across. But I don’t even get any breaks and these creeps just go around doing whatever the fuck they want with stuff that more and more clearly they have no damn right to just seize. And they think they are cute and funny..probably..till recently I didn’t even think anyone would believe it wasn’t just a psychological issue rather than fury at this drivel being legitimized. I don’t mean anyone with a tech job on DU or regular online advertising..

I mean the creeps around where I live (and before that in Si Valley far from anything I would consider academia starting circa Dec 2011 and patchily earlier). I don’t even have a smart home. I have the right to know what this junk is and whether I would consider it scientific and up to spec and so far I don’t. It also looks like the same disgusting monoculture of creepy, homogenized garbage I hate. So I at least am for criminal liability where I would absolutely say it is nowhere near up to any kind of spec.

Hell, I at least consider it more universal to not surrender space to corrupt creeps shilling criminal rot while pushing boundaries than not. This needs to be gone from my home, street and part of the grid, except where I would explicit allow it and I am all for retroactive allegations. It is the only way they will stop.
)..
Latest Discussions»Issue Forums»Liberal YouTubers»Breaking: Elon Musk serve...