Banning Elon Musk’s X in Ireland might not be very effective in eliminating the problem of AI generated sexual abuse images, according to tech experts.

The British Government is looking into the possibility of a ban following concerns about its AI tool Grok generating sexually explicit deepfake images of people without their consent.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has called the images “disgusting” and “unlawful”, reassuring the public that Ofcom, which has the power to effectively ban X in the UK, has the government’s “full support to take action” on the matter.

Newstalk tech correspondent Jess Kelly told Lunchtime Live that AI is “ingrained in pretty much every app we use now” and banning X is not “addressing the fundamental issue.”

Banning X will not be effective as the “harmful content will move across to other platforms,” she added.

“It's like catching smoke if you're trying to police it,” she said.

A statement shared on X’s official safety account asserts that the platform will “take action against illegal content on X, including Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), by removing it, permanently suspending accounts, and working with local governments and law enforcement as necessary.”

Elon Musk rests his chin on his hand. Picture by: The Associated Press.

X’s European headquarters are located in Dublin, yet Ms Kelly said the platform has been less responsive since Elon Musk took over the company.

"When Elon Musk took over, he got rid of a lot of the trust and safety team, a lot of the content moderators, a lot of the human beings that would have moderated content," she said.

"And now a lot of the moderation is being done by AI."

Elon Musk in France. Picture by: Media Pictures/Alamy Stock Live News.

Also on the programme, Elaine Burke, host of the ‘For Techs Sake’ podcast, said Musk likely care little about Ireland.

"I actually don't think that, even if the whole of Ireland left, that it would have a material impact,” she argued.

“But I think it would actually reflect what is your moral standing on this?

"The responsible thing to do would be to shut it down while you, at the very least, investigate and try to mitigate those issues.

"Over 90% of that content [deepfake generative AI imagery] online is pornographic and I venture that a huge substantial amount of that 90 something percent is non- consensually pornographic."

Non-consensual deepfake AI generated pornography is counted as intimate image abuse under Irish law and those who create or share (or threaten to share) such imagery can face prison time.

Niamh Smyth, the Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, has said the images are illegal under both Irish and EU law, telling Newstalk Breakfast that she is seeking a meeting with X on the matter.

She has also called on the Irish public to boycott the platform.

Written by Ella Anderson. 

Main image: Elon Musk's X account. Picture by: ALAIN JOCARD/AFP via Getty Images.