X Rolls Out Its New AI Image Generator Aurora — Unfortunately, It Has One Big Problem
Unlike most AI tools, Aurora seems to operate with minimal restrictions.
By Sukhbir Cheema — 09 Dec 2024, 03:12 PM
Elon Musk's X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, is doubling down on artificial intelligence
Over the weekend, the platform quietly introduced Aurora, a new AI-powered image generator available in the Grok AI tab of its app.
However, unlike most AI tools, Aurora seems to operate with minimal restrictions
Aurora lets users generate hyper-realistic images from simple text prompts — but sometimes, too realistic.
For instance, it allows the creation of photo-like depictions of real people in surreal scenarios.
TechCrunch reported that they were able to generate a photo-realistic image of a bloodied US president-elect Donald Trump.
While it avoids nudity, its leniency toward other types of content raises questions, especially since mainstream AI platforms usually block such usage due to ethical and legal concerns.
What's more puzzling is Aurora's origins
Details about its developers, training data, or ethical safeguards remain murky.
Given that X's Grok chatbot reportedly uses user data for training, it's plausible Aurora follows a similar path, though this hasn't been confirmed.
While the feature may appeal to creative types looking to experiment with AI, the lack of transparency and guardrails invites scrutiny.
Is this a bold leap forward or a recipe for misuse? As with many of X's recent moves, the answer might depend on who's asking — and who's generating.
The new image generator is still unavailable to Malaysian X users.
