Gardaí would act if Grok-type platform set up in someone’s basement – ministerBy Bairbre Holmes, Press AssociationIf 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: “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.

Source: Irish Independent January 13, 2026 12:57 UTC