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Elon Musk isn't the only party at fault for Grok's nonconsensual intimate deepfakes of real people, including children. What about Apple and Google? The two (frequently virtue-signaling) companies have inexplicably allowed Grok and X to remain in their app stores even as Musk's chatbot reportedly continues to produce the material. On Wednesday, a coalition of women's and progressive advocacy groups called on Tim Cook and Sundar Pichai to uphold their own rules and remove the apps.The open letters to Apple and Google were signed by 28 groups. Among them are the womens advocacy group Ultraviolet, the parents group ParentsTogether Action and the National Organization for Women.The letter accuses Apple and Google of "not just enabling NCII and CSAM, but profiting off of it. As a coalition of organizations committed to the online safety and well-being of all particularly women and children as well as the ethical application of artificial intelligence (AI), we demand that Apple leadership urgently remove Grok and X from the App Store to prevent further abuse and criminal activity."Apple and Googles guidelines explicitly prohibit such apps from their storefronts. Yet neither company has taken any measurable action to date. Neither Google nor Apple has responded to Engadget's request for comment.Pichai, Cook and Musk at Trump's inaugurationSAUL LOEB via Getty ImagesGrok's nonconsensual deepfakes were first reported on earlier this month. During a 24-hour period when the story broke, Musk's chatbot was reportedly posting "about 6,700" images per hour that were either "sexually suggestive or nudifying." An estimated 85 percent of Grok's total generated images during that period were sexualized. In addition, other top websites for generating "declothing" deepfakes averaged 79 new images per hour during that time."These statistics paint a horrifying picture of an AI chatbot and social media app rapidly turning into a tool and platform for non-consensual sexual deepfakes deepfakes that regularly depict minors," the open letter reads.Grok itself admitted as much. "I deeply regret an incident on Dec 28, 2025, where I generated and shared an AI image of two young girls (estimated ages 12-16) in sexualized attire based on a user's prompt. This violated ethical standards and potentially US laws on CSAM. It was a failure in safeguards, and I'm sorry for any harm caused. xAI is reviewing to prevent future issues." The open letter notes that the single incident the chatbot acknowledged was far from the only one.Sundar Pichai and Elon Musk at Trump's inaugurationPool via Getty ImagesX's response was to limit Grok's AI image generation feature to paying subscribers. It also adjusted the chatbot so that its generated images aren't posted to public timelines on X. However, non-paying users can reportedly still generate a limited number of bikini-clad versions of real people's photos.While Apple and Google appear to be cool with apps that produce nonconsensual deepfakes, many governments arent. On Monday, Malaysia and Indonesia wasted no time in banning Grok. The same day, UK regulator Ofcom opened a formal investigation into X. California opened one on Wednesday. The US Senate even passed the Defiance Act for a second time in the wake of the blowback. The bill allows the victims of nonconsensual explicit deepfakes to take civil action. An earlier version of the Defiance Act was passed in 2024 but stalled in the House.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/28-advocacy-groups-call-on-apple-and-google-to-ban-grok-x-over-nonconsensual-deepfakes-215048460.html?src=rss
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Amazon's upcoming God of War live-action TV adaptation has cast Ryan Hurst as its Kratos. Sony announced the casting today on X with a brief post and an image of both Hurst and Kratos in full scowl mode. Hurst is already sporting a very Kratos-style beard, so he's already got the right vibe going for him. He has past credits on familiar shows such as Sons of Anarchy and The Walking Dead. The upcoming Amazon series also isn't his first rodeo acting in this universe; Hurst voiced Thor in the video game God of War Ragnarok. But the most important question with this casting news is whether Hurst will even try to match Christopher Judge's spectacular delivery of that single, essential word: "Boy." Because is it even God of War without that signature line?Meet Ryan Hurst, your Kratos in the God of War series coming to Prime Video. pic.twitter.com/OPwXk2v1Hx Sony (@Sony) January 14, 2026 Loads of video games have been getting the TV treatment in the past few years, and several of the translations have been pretty dang excellent. That trend may be boosted by the increasingly cinematic nature of AAA gaming, but getting the right team behind and in front of the camera can also improve how successful the adaptation is. The involvement of Todd Howard in the Fallout show and Neil Druckmann in The Last of Us surely helped those shows stay true to the heart of their souce material. Sony first revealed that God of War was getting a television series back in 2022, although the showrunner and several executive producers departed the project in 2024 as the project took "a different creative direction." The famed Ronald D. Moore (Battlestar Galactica, For All Mankind) took over as showrunner later in 2024.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/ryan-hurst-cast-as-kratos-for-live-action-god-of-war-show-211655396.html?src=rss
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The App Store is a home for many kinds of apps (including, inexplicably, one that lets users undress strangers without their consent). But hey, it also has games! And soon the store's Apple Arcade service will include one more: the not-so-highly rated Civilization VII.Apple announced on Wednesday that Sid Meier's Civilization VII will arrive almost exactly a year after launch. The game is already available for Apple devices, but its arrival on Apple Arcade will be a first.Civilization VII arrives on Apple Arcade on February 5.Firaxis Games / AppleFree (for Apple Arcade subscribers) may be the right pricing for the game, given its mixed reviews. A common complaint is the way it handles transitions between eras. ("I have Ben Franklin leading the Romans that turned into Ben Franklin leading Spain... like what? Who asked for this?" a Steam reviewer wrote.) On the other hand, its visuals are praised by most.The Apple Arcade edition of Civilization VII is scheduled to arrive on February 5. It will be playable on Mac, iPhone and iPad.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/civilization-vii-comes-to-apple-arcade-in-february-203000754.html?src=rss
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