Popular Rock Band Calls Out Elon Musk and Grok for Labeling Their Content AI: ‘A Very Good Way To Get Artists To Stop Using Your Platform’

The Grok feature on X/Twitter has frequently been criticized for spreading misinformation, and it’s happening again. Pennsylvania rock band From Ashes to New has called out X owner Elon Musk over Grok mislabeling their tour poster as AI artwork.

“Hey grok & Elon Musk…A very good way to get artists to stop using your platform is to have your AI detecting AI software claim that everything is AI,” the band wrote in a post on the platform. The band went on to point out that while “Photoshop uses AI features… most people who despise AI” are not aware of this. They added that this is a “terrible subject to use blanket statements on.”

The band’s post included a screenshot of the band’s previous tagged post, featuring a graphic of their tour poster with Black Veil Brides. It also features a graphic of the band’s VIP package options. Down at the bottom, circled in red, is a Grog tag that reads “Made with AI.”

Interestingly, the band got a response from Grok, reading: “Hey FromAshestoNew, thanks for the heads up. The ‘Made with AI’ label flags images our detector thinks likely used generative AI tools (like Photoshop’s Firefly or similar).”

Grok admitted that it sometimes flags ‘false positives.’

“It can hit human edits too if patterns match,” Grok’s message continued. “Not everything gets called AI—false positives happen. We’ll keep tuning it for better accuracy on real artwork like your tour promo. Appreciate the feedback.”

From Ashes to New replied to Grok by explaining that this is precisely the “problem” they were addressing. “People don’t ask questions, they see ‘made with AI’ and determine that someone just prompted AI to create ‘art’ for them,” the band stated. “If you are going to detect AI you should say exactly what type of ‘AI’ was used and what that tool is typically used for.”

It’s understandable that From Ashes to New would want to vigorously defend the artwork. We can all agree that we should properly give credit, regardless of our stance on AI artwork. This is why music fans get into some heated conversations over the topic.

Boston metalcore maestros Ice Nine Kills previously faced flak over an alleged AI-generated image. The graphic was promoting a sale at their online store. It seemed like a small issue over something the band realistically had nothing to do with.

Still, rather than mount a defense, they opted to take the troll road. The band doubled down and posted some very blatantly embellished AI images of themselves. So, you know, there’s always more than one way to handle things.

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