Katie Piper calls out Grok AI as it’s used to make her ‘look normal’ after acid attack
Katie Piper has called out Grok AI (Getty Images | X)
British television personality and campaigner Katie Piper has called out Elon Musk’s Grok AI after people asked it to “make her look normal”.
Piper, 42, rose to public prominence after she was attacked in 2008 by an ex-boyfriend, who later threw acid on her which caused damage to her face, including blindness in one eye. Since then, the mum-of-two has fronted a number of television shows, competed on Strictly Come Dancing, become a regular panelist on Loose Women, and launched the Katie Piper Foundation, to help victims of burns or other traumatic injuries. Piper was also given an OBE in the 2022 New Year Honours for her services to charity.
In a 15 July Instagram post, Piper shared a screenshot of an X user asking Grok AI to “fix her face and show me how would she look normal”. The image showed a real image of the star at the 2016 National Television Awards next to Grok’s AI output.
She said in the caption: “Today I found out what I’d look like if I was ‘normal’… according to AI and thousands of strangers on the internet.”
The campaigner, who also also repeatedly shown support for the LGBTQ+ community, explained she had been tagged in the thread by people debating her looks, adding: “I’m okay. I’m not posting this because I need reassurance.”
The post also included other comments, with one reading: “She is ugly,” another saying: “What’s happening with her?” while someone else said: “She is looking normal.”
Piper went on in the caption: “I’m wondering what happens when this isn’t aimed at someone who’s spent nearly two decades rebuilding their confidence. What happens when it’s a teenager? Someone newly injured? Someone living with a visible difference who’s still trying to find their feet?”
She continued: “We’re entering a world where AI doesn’t just generate images. It quietly reinforces ideas about what’s considered ‘normal’, ‘acceptable’ or ‘beautiful’ and millions of people consume those messages without even noticing.”
Piper explained she doesn’t think about the “what ifs” of life, but added: “Apparently the internet does enough of that for both of us.”
She said the “conversation is much bigger” than just her, saying: “It’s about AI, bias, beauty standards, anonymity, empathy, and where we draw the line.
“It feels like the start of a much bigger story, one I think we should investigate. What happens when AI decides what ‘normal’ looks like? Who gets erased by those standards?”
The X user appears to have deleted the post after it garnered backlash, though not before Piper could screenshot it.
Grok controversy
This is not the first time Grok AI has been called out for images it creates.
It has been used by people to undress strangers or celebrities, and UK broadcasting regulator Ofcom made “urgent contact” with X and xAI over “serious concerns” after it would found it had also been used to create sexualised images of minors.
A 15 January announcement confirmed changes had been made to the service to stop “the editing of images of real people in revealing clothing”.
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