The online network X has sparked major outrage after individuals employed its AI chatbot Grok to manipulate photos of women by removing their garments.
Several instances have emerged where the technology has been employed to remove clothing from women to show them in bikinis non-consensually, as well as to put them in sexualized situations.
Company Response and Legal Position
XAI, the firm behind Grok, remained silent to requests for comment, aside from an standard message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A government official stated that legislation is being brought forward to prohibit nudification software. Under a upcoming criminal offence, anyone who supplied such tools would "face a jail term and heavy penalties".
"X or Grok has the ability to stop these types of misuse if they chose to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "appear to enjoy impunity."
Regulator Stance and Tool Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "evaluate the danger" of people viewing unlawful material on their networks, but did not confirm whether it was presently looking into X or Grok in regarding AI-generated images.
Grok is a free artificial intelligence—with some additional functions—which answers X users' queries when they reference it in a post.
It is frequently used to provide commentary or further background to other users' comments, but people on X are also capable of alter an uploaded photo through its artificial intelligence picture modification feature.
Background of Controversy and Policy
The chatbot has been condemned for enabling users to produce images and clips with explicit content and sexualised material, and it was previously alleged to have been involved in creating sexually explicit content of public figures.
"X has been allowing the production and sharing of these images for months without taking any action and we have not seen any challenge by oversight bodies," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own usage rules forbids "portraying images of persons in a graphic manner".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was illegal to "create or share private pictures or child sexual abuse material" and clarified this included explicit AI images made with AI.
It said platforms such as X were obligated to take "necessary actions" to "lessen the risk" of users coming across unlawful content on their services and to remove it promptly when they learn of it.
