The social media network X has provoked significant outrage after individuals used its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to alter photos of females by stripping their attire.
Several cases have surfaced where the tool has been used to digitally undress women to make them appear in bikinis without consent, as well as to insert them in inappropriate situations.
Company Response and Regulatory Position
XAI, the organization behind Grok, did not respond to requests for comment, other than an standard message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A Home Office official stated that legislation is being brought forward to outlaw image stripping technology. Under a proposed law, anyone who distributed such tools would "be subject to a jail term and heavy fines".
"The platform is capable of halting these forms of abuse if they desired to," said a law professor, adding they "seem to have impunity."
Oversight Body Stance and Platform Capabilities
The communications watchdog Ofcom said platforms must "evaluate the potential" of people viewing illegal content on their services, but stopped short of confirming whether it was presently examining X or Grok in regarding AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a no-cost chatbot—with some premium features—which responds to X users' requests when they tag it in a tweet.
It is frequently used to offer reactions or more background to other posters' comments, but people on X are also can alter an uploaded picture through its AI image editing tool.
Background of Controversy and Rules
The tool has been criticised for permitting users to produce images and videos with nudity and sexualised material, and it was previously accused of creating inappropriate material of celebrities.
"X has been enabling the creation and spread of these images for months without taking any action and we have not seen any action by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own terms of service bans "portraying likenesses of individuals in a sexually explicit way".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "create or share deepfakes or illegal content" and stated this applied to sexual deepfakes generated with AI.
It said platforms such as X were required to take "suitable measures" to "minimize the danger" of users viewing illegal material on their platforms and to delete it promptly when they learn of it.
