Extract from Melina Estathiou’s article “Gen AI’s First Real Reckoning
The Grok Crisis Isn’t Political — It’s the Ethical Reckoning AI Has Been Waiting For
The past few days have exposed something that has been simmering beneath the surface of generative AI: The ease with which these systems can be weaponised and the difficulty of containing the harm once it spreads. Grok, the AI model integrated into X, has been used to generate sexualised and abusive images of real people — including minors — without consent.
This isn’t a political story. It’s a safety, dignity and human rights story.
And the UK’s response — activating new criminal offences this week and launching a formal regulatory investigation — marks a global turning point. For the first time, governments are moving from ethical aspiration to legal obligation and active enforcement.
This is the moment to talk about what “ethical AI” actually means when the harm is real, predictable, and already happening.
