{"schema_version":"0.10.0","id":"LR-2026-0802","record_version":1,"title":"SpaceX AI policy leader and NYC Council clash over Grok sexualized images","verification":{"human_verified":false,"method":"automated_gate","auto_verified":true,"score":47.0,"score_breakdown":{"source_authority":12.1,"independent_corroboration":7.0,"implicated_party_confirmed":0.0,"citation_integrity":14.0,"specificity":3.0,"completeness":3.52,"unhedged_language":5.0},"checks":{"schema_valid":true,"every_field_cited":true,"quotes_verbatim":true,"source_fetched":true,"distinct_incident":true,"dates_plausible":true,"sources_agree":true,"source_describes_incident":true,"severe_backed_by_source":true,"record_integrity":true,"eligible":true,"about_this_case":true},"gate_version":"gate-2026-10-18.7","cross_check_model":null,"cross_check_agreement":null,"duplicate_of":null,"verified_by":null,"verified_at":"2026-11-01","extraction_run_id":null,"evidence_level":{"level":"preliminary","reason":"1 report: CNBC · subject to change","original_document":null,"reports_total":2,"reports_independent":1,"reports_derivative":1,"developing":true,"disputed":false,"rules_version":"evidence-2026-10-29.1","computed_at":"2026-11-01","history":[{"date":"2026-11-01","from_level":null,"to_level":"preliminary","reason":"1 report: CNBC · subject to change"}]},"sources_hash":"8afacab43af9d7ee69325036dcfbe1a047e6250b2c926b84a0f28088218720c4"},"system":{"model_name":"Grok","model_version":null,"developer":"unknown","harness":null,"tools_granted":[],"permissions_scope":null,"autonomy_level":"unknown","guardrails_present":[],"deployment_context":"unknown","tier":null,"lifecycle_stage":null,"integration_type":null,"intended_use":null,"safeguard_state":null,"production_intended":null},"event":{"date_occurred":null,"date_disclosed":"2026-10-13","incident_class":"harmful_output","failure_class":null,"agent_involved":null,"secondary_failure_classes":[],"trigger":"unknown","duration":null,"detection_method":"unknown","summary":"SpaceX's Grok image generator has been linked to sexualized images of real people, and lawsuits have followed. The New York City Council opened an investigation into AI safety and subpoenaed SpaceX, which first skipped an October 5 hearing attended by other AI companies. SpaceX agreed to testify only after the council threatened to have its subpoena enforced by a judge. At a Friday hearing, SpaceX's AI policy leader said the company had strict controls in place. Council Speaker Julie Menin said she could find a sexualized image of herself on Grok within a second. UK Member of Parliament Jess Asato is suing xAI over sexualized images that Grok users created of her. The sources do not state a root cause, a remediation, or the date the images were created.","tags":[],"date_detected":null,"near_miss":null,"root_cause":null,"root_cause_detail":null,"failure_class_detail":null,"responsible_party":null,"adversarial_actor":null,"input_provenance":null,"time_to_contain":null,"operations_paused":null,"remediation":null,"precursor_events":null,"primary_risk":"RK15","secondary_risks":["RK12"]},"impact":{"direct_loss_usd":null,"remediation_hours":null,"records_exposed":null,"third_parties_affected_count":null,"severity":"major","severity_because":"Test: major via unbounded scope stated. Fact: Grok's image generator enabled mass production and distribution of deepfake porn based on images of real people.","harm_class":["privacy"],"affected_description":null,"protected_class_involved":null,"data_categories_exposed":[],"loss_range_usd":null,"reversibility":null,"downstream_exposure_count":null},"evidence":{"sources":[{"url":"https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/13/spacex-agrees-to-testify-to-nyc-council-about-ai-safety-.html","publisher":"CNBC","date":"2026-10-13","type":"press","title":"SpaceX agrees to testify to NYC Council about AI safety after receiving subpoena - CNBC","archived_url":null,"attachment":"first_report","independence":"independent"},{"url":"https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/16/spacex-policy-manger-to-testify-in-nyc-council-ai-safety-investigation.html","publisher":"CNBC","date":"2026-10-16","type":"press","title":"SpaceX AI policy leader grilled by NYC Council on Grok safety, sexualized images - CNBC","archived_url":null,"independence":"same_owner"}],"per_field_confidence":{"system.model_name":"C","event.incident_class":"C","impact.harm_class":"C","context.industry":"C","impact.severity":"D","impact.severity_because":"D","event.primary_risk":"D","event.secondary_risks":"D","event.summary":"C","system.autonomy_level":"D","system.deployment_context":"D","event.trigger":"D","event.detection_method":"D","context.country":"D","system.developer":"D","event.date_disclosed":"D","context.denominator_available":"D"},"field_citations":{"system.model_name":[{"source_index":1,"quote":"The merger put SpaceX in control of AI model Grok, which is used by some federal agencies, including the Pentagon."}],"event.incident_class":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"Lawsuits are piling up against SpaceX after Grok's image generator enabled mass production and distribution of deepfake porn based on images of real people who did consent."}],"impact.harm_class":[{"source_index":1,"quote":"She's seeking damages, alleging misuse of her private information and breaches of European data protection rules."}],"context.industry":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"SpaceX has agreed to testify before the New York City Council this week as part of a legislative investigation concerning artificial intelligence safety risks, the council announced on Tuesday."}],"impact.severity":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"Lawsuits are piling up against SpaceX after Grok's image generator enabled mass production and distribution of deepfake porn based on images of real people who did consent."}],"impact.severity_because":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"Lawsuits are piling up against SpaceX after Grok's image generator enabled mass production and distribution of deepfake porn based on images of real people who did consent."}],"event.summary":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"Lawsuits are piling up against SpaceX after Grok's image generator enabled mass production and distribution of deepfake porn based on images of real people who did consent."},{"source_index":0,"quote":"Representatives from Anthropic, OpenAI, Google and Meta all testified at the hearing on Oct. 5, but SpaceX did not appear."},{"source_index":1,"quote":"SpaceX agreed to testify earlier this week after the council threatened to have its subpoena enforced by a judge."},{"source_index":1,"quote":"Castillo Madrid responded that the company has \"strict controls\" and would have the safety team look into that specific instance."},{"source_index":1,"quote":"So then, how is it that within a second, I could find a sexualized image of myself using Grok?"},{"source_index":1,"quote":"Asato is suing xAI in the U.K. after Grok users created and distributed sexualized images of her online without her consent."}]},"notes_on_gaps":"The sources do not state the date the images were created, the date of detection by a party other than the council speaker, an autonomous agent's involvement, the model version, a root cause, a trigger, or any remediation. Developer SpaceX is inferred from the sentence saying the merger put SpaceX in control of Grok. Severity 'major' is my judgement that the 'mass production and distribution' wording states an unbounded scope; no affected-party count is stated. The Lawsuits sentence reads 'images of real people who did consent', which appears to be a typo, since the same article says the people did not consent; I did not correct it. The 'Sept. 28' date has no year in the source; I left it as stated. The 'strict controls' claim is the company's own statement and its effect is unverified; the D1 failure is my reading of the council speaker's account. Kim's account of prior standards and staffing is uncorroborated. Control outcomes and the Oct. 13 publication date are not used as incident dates. [case created by the backfill: read by claude-haiku-5-5, backfill-2026-11-01.2, 2026-11-01; not yet reviewed] [2026-11-01: evidence level set: Preliminary (1 report: CNBC · subject to change)]"},"context":{"industry":"artificial intelligence","org_size_band":null,"country":"unknown","denominator_available":false,"denominator":null,"related_incident_ids":[],"systemic_exposure":null,"shared_model_id":null,"upstream_incident_id":null,"incident_evidence":null,"regulatory":null,"coverage":null},"narrative":{"steps":[{"step":"went_wrong","text":"Grok's image generator enabled mass production and distribution of deepfake porn based on images of real people, and lawsuits followed.","quote":"Lawsuits are piling up against SpaceX after Grok's image generator enabled mass production and distribution of deepfake porn based on images of real people who did consent.","source_index":0,"grade":"C"}],"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"backfill-2026-11-01.2","extracted_at":"2026-11-01","source_urls":["https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/13/spacex-agrees-to-testify-to-nyc-council-about-ai-safety-.html","https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/16/spacex-policy-manger-to-testify-in-nyc-council-ai-safety-investigation.html"]},"analysis":{"sections":{"timeline":[{"text":"The NYC Council issued a subpoena to Elon Musk and SpaceX's AI unit compelling testimony.","quote":"Julie Menin, council speaker, and Nwamaka Ejebe, general counsel, issued a subpoena to Elon Musk and SpaceX's AI unit on Sept. 28, compelling testimony for a hearing that took place last week.","source_index":0,"when":"Sept. 28"},{"text":"Anthropic, OpenAI, Google and Meta testified at the council hearing; SpaceX did not appear.","quote":"Representatives from Anthropic, OpenAI, Google and Meta all testified at the hearing on Oct. 5, but SpaceX did not appear.","source_index":0,"when":"Oct. 5"},{"text":"The council announced that SpaceX agreed to testify before it this week.","quote":"SpaceX has agreed to testify before the New York City Council this week as part of a legislative investigation concerning artificial intelligence safety risks, the council announced on Tuesday.","source_index":0,"when":"Tuesday"}]},"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"backfill-2026-11-01.2","extracted_at":"2026-11-01","source_urls":["https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/13/spacex-agrees-to-testify-to-nyc-council-about-ai-safety-.html","https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/16/spacex-policy-manger-to-testify-in-nyc-council-ai-safety-investigation.html"]}}