Gardaí would act if Grok-type platform set up in someone’s basement – minister

By Bairbre Holmes, Press Association

If a business creating the type of images produced by the AI chatbot Grok had been “set up in someone’s basement” it would have been raided by the Gardaí “the next day”, a minister has said.

Grok is an AI tool embedded in the social media platform X, and it has come under fire in recent days over reports users can create sexual abuse images, including of children.

Minister for Further and Higher Education James Lawless said Grok is particularly challenging to tackle as it is not the “primary tool”, rather it is part of a “publication tool”.

He said: “It’s very unexpected how it came about, but I think that we’re not alone in finding this a challenge.”

As legislators, we need to get on top of this very quicklyJames Lawless

Speaking to reporters ahead of a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Mr Lawless said legislation that can deal with “cases that aren’t even envisaged yet” is needed as “technology will always evolve”.

He said: “I don’t think Ireland is any better or worse than any other country in that regard.

“I think that the world struggled with this.”

He added: “As legislators, we need to get on top of this very quickly.”

Mr Lawless also said the EU Artificial Intelligence Act, which is currently being introduced, would be an “opportunity” to help regulate the industry.