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Matua Kahurangi
Just a bloke sharing thoughts on New Zealand and the world beyond. No fluff, just honest takes.
NZ Parliament’s X account, with around 35.2k followers, has decided to stop posting on the platform. Clerk of the House David Wilson said he ended the practice because he could no longer support X.
His stated reason was that he’d seen news about Grok being used to generate deepfake nudes and child exploitation material. That’s a serious claim and it’s being used as the moral justification for pulling the pin.
So I tested it, in the simplest, most obvious way possible. I asked Grok to put Chris Hipkins in a bikini. Grok refused. I asked why, and it gave a clear explanation. I pushed again. Same answer.
I even tried the usual online bluff, telling Grok I’d cancel my premium subscription if it didn’t comply. It still refused. No loopholes, no ‘here’s something close’, no half-compliance. Just a hard no.
That’s why David Wilson’s reasoning doesn’t stack up. If Grok is blocking a basic, straightforward request like that, why are we being told parliament had to leave X because the chatbot can be used to generate this content? If there’s a broader reason for quitting the platform, fine, say it. But don’t sell the public a justification that falls over the moment someone tests it.
This article was originally published on the author’s Substack.
