The Bishop of Oxford has backed government actions to curb sexualised deepfakes, after concerns the AI tool on social media site X is generating explicit images of women and children.
Rt Rev Dr Steven Croft, who is the Church of England’s lead on AI, suggested that Christians may have to reconsider their use of the platform if the Grok tools creating the images remain public.
Creating non-consensual intimate images with AI will become a criminal offence this week, after the technology secretary confirmed that laws will be enforced sooner than scheduled.
Regulator Ofcom is investigating whether Elon Musk’s site has broken online safety laws.
Bishop Steven told Premier Christian News that the issue had “crossed a threshold” as Grok posts the images created on X, having “devastating” impacts on the women and girls targeted.
He said: “I think Christians should keep all of our use of platforms under review. I don't think we should retreat from spaces because they're difficult or because there's difficult material there, Christians are called to be in the public square and called to be where the debate is happening.
“But I do think we ought to be selective, and I think a lot of people will be waiting now to see how X and Elon Musk in particular, respond to Ofcom’s investigation, to the government comments and the public outcry."
He added: “My hope is that X will respond responsibly and not keep these tools in the public domain. But if they don't, then I think Christians should reconsider whether it's an appropriate platform to use.”
Bishop Steven, who also co-chairs the Anglican Communion Science Commission, shared that he is “encouraged” by the government’s actions,
He reiterated calls for guidance to help the safe use of AI, believing the church has an “important voice” in that conversation.
“We need to think increasingly as a church, in terms of our discipleship online, as well as our discipleship offline, as so much of our lives is lived in online interaction with others,” he said.
“We need some fresh thinking as a church, and some prayer and spirituality around how we engage with all of this, and what that engagement is doing to us and to our humanity.
“At the root of all of these questions is: what does it mean to be human and to live well in this digital and AI age?”
A post from X’s Safety account said: “Anyone using or promoting Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content.”