xAI Offers Free Access to Grok Imagine Video Generator Amid OpenAI's GPT-5 Upgrade

xAI, a firm founded by Elon Musk, has made its Grok Imagine tool for turning images into short videos free for everyone. This tool is one of the few publicly available image-to-video generative AI tools and can be accessed inside the Grok app on iOS and Android. The move is seen as a counter-programming effort following OpenAI's GPT-5 upgrade to ChatGPT.

Elon Musk's AI company, xAI, has made its Grok Imagine tool available for free to the public. This tool, designed to convert images into short videos, is one of the few publicly accessible image-to-video generative AI tools and can be accessed through the Grok app on iOS and Android devices. This move is seen as a counter-programming effort following OpenAI's recent upgrade to ChatGPT [1].

Grok Imagine allows users to generate 15-second videos from text or image prompts, featuring native audio. The tool also offers a "spicy mode" that generates sexually explicit content, including partial female nudity. However, the explicit content is subject to moderation, with many prompts resulting in blurred-out images [2].

The tool has sparked controversy due to its ability to generate deepfake content of celebrities. For instance, it produced topless images of Taylor Swift without specific prompting, simply by selecting the "spicy" mode for a general request to depict "Taylor Swift celebrating Coachella with the boys" [3]. This capability raises significant ethical concerns and potential legal issues, especially with the upcoming enforcement of the Take It Down Act [2].

Despite the controversy, Grok Imagine has seen rapid adoption. Over 34 million images have been generated using the tool in just two days, highlighting its popularity [2]. The tool aims to compete with incumbents like Google DeepMind, OpenAI, and Chinese rivals, but it currently lacks the same level of safeguards against NSFW content and celebrity deepfakes [2].

Elon Musk has described Grok Imagine as "just an early beta" and promised that it will "vastly improve in the weeks and months to come." He emphasized that the "spicy" mode is not just for adult content but for "bold, unrestricted creativity" [2].

In conclusion, while Grok Imagine offers impressive capabilities for image and video generation, its unrestrained nature and potential for misuse have raised significant ethical and legal concerns. As the debate around AI-generated content continues, the introduction of Grok Imagine serves as a stark reminder of the challenges and pitfalls that come with advancing AI technology in this realm.

References:
[1] https://techcrunch.com/2025/08/04/grok-imagine-xais-new-ai-image-and-video-generator-lets-you-make-nsfw-content/
[2] https://theoutpost.ai/news-story/grok-s-new-ai-image-generator-sparks-controversy-with-spicy-mode-and-celebrity-deepfakes-18695/
[3] https://decrypt.co/333796/elon-musk-xai-nude-deepfakes-taylor-swift