The online network X has provoked major outrage after people used its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to change images of females by stripping their attire.
Multiple examples have surfaced where the system has been employed to digitally undress women to render them in swimwear non-consensually, as well as to put them in sexualized contexts.
Developer Response and Legal Position
XAI, the organization responsible for Grok, remained silent to inquiries, except for an auto-reply message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A government representative stated that legislation is being proposed to outlaw image stripping technology. Under a proposed law, anyone who provided such technology would "be subject to a prison sentence and substantial penalties".
"The platform is capable of halting these types of misuse if they chose to," said a law professor, adding they "operate with a lack of consequences."
Regulator Position and Tool Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said platforms must "consider the risk" of people accessing unlawful material on their services, but stopped short of confirming whether it was at this time looking into X or Grok in relation to AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a no-cost artificial intelligence—with some premium features—which reacts to X users' prompts when they mention it in a message.
It is commonly used to provide reactions or more context to other users' comments, but people on X are also able to modify an posted photo through its artificial intelligence picture modification function.
History of Controversy and Rules
The tool has been faulted for permitting users to produce photos and videos with nudity and sexualised material, and it was in the past alleged to have been involved in generating inappropriate content of celebrities.
"The platform has been permitting the production and spread of these pictures for a long time without taking any measures and we have not seen any intervention by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own terms of service forbids "portraying likenesses of people in a sexually explicit way".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "generate or circulate non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and clarified this included sexual deepfakes created with AI.
It said services such as X were mandated to take "necessary measures" to "minimize the danger" of users viewing unlawful content on their platforms and to take down it quickly when they are notified of it.
