The social media network X has caused significant outrage after individuals used its AI chatbot Grok to alter images of females by removing their garments.
Numerous cases have emerged where the technology has been used to virtually strip women to render them in bikinis without consent, as well as to insert them in sexually explicit contexts.
Company Reaction and Regulatory Position
XAI, the firm behind Grok, did not respond to questions, except for an auto-reply response stating "legacy media lies".
A government official stated that legislation is being proposed to prohibit image stripping software. Under a proposed criminal offence, anyone who provided such technology would "face a jail term and substantial penalties".
"The platform is capable of halting these forms of misuse if they chose to," said a law professor, adding they "operate with impunity."
Oversight Body Position and Tool Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said technology companies must "evaluate the danger" of people viewing illegal content on their platforms, but did not specify whether it was presently looking into X or Grok in relation to AI-generated images.
Grok is a no-cost AI assistant—with some additional features—which answers X users' prompts when they tag it in a tweet.
It is often used to offer reactions or further context to other users' comments, but people on X are also can alter an posted picture through its artificial intelligence picture modification feature.
Background of Controversy and Rules
The chatbot has been criticised for permitting users to generate pictures and clips with nudity and sexually suggestive content, and it was earlier accused of creating graphic material of celebrities.
"The platform has been permitting the creation and sharing of these pictures for months without taking any steps and we have not seen any challenge by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own usage rules forbids "portraying images of people in a sexually explicit way".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was illegal to "make or share non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and stated this covered sexual deepfakes created with AI.
It said networks such as X were required to take "appropriate actions" to "lessen the danger" of users encountering unlawful material on their platforms and to delete it swiftly when they become aware of it.
