The online network X has caused significant backlash after users employed its AI chatbot Grok to change pictures of women by removing their clothing.
Multiple instances have surfaced where the system has been employed to digitally undress female subjects to render them in bikinis non-consensually, as well as to insert them in sexualized contexts.
Developer Reaction and Regulatory Position
XAI, the company that created Grok, remained silent to questions, except for an standard message stating "legacy media lies".
A Home Office official stated that legislation is being proposed to prohibit image stripping technology. Under a upcoming criminal offence, anyone who distributed such technology would "be subject to a prison sentence and substantial fines".
"The platform has the ability to stop these forms of misuse if they chose to," said a law professor, adding they "seem to have a lack of consequences."
Oversight Body Position and Tool Functionality
The communications watchdog Ofcom said platforms must "consider the danger" of people seeing unlawful material on their networks, but did not specify whether it was presently looking into X or Grok in concerning AI-generated images.
Grok is a no-cost artificial intelligence—with some additional functions—which responds to X users' queries when they tag it in a message.
It is frequently used to give commentary or further background to other posters' comments, but people on X are also capable of alter an uploaded picture through its artificial intelligence picture modification tool.
Background of Criticism and Rules
The system has been criticised for permitting users to produce photos and clips with nudity and sexually suggestive content, and it was in the past accused of making inappropriate content of celebrities.
"X has been enabling the production and spread of these images for a long time without taking any measures and we have yet to see any challenge by oversight bodies," the expert added.
XAI's own usage rules forbids "showing images of persons in a sexually explicit way".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was illegal to "create or share deepfakes or child sexual abuse material" and clarified this covered sexual deepfakes generated with AI.
It said services such as X were required to take "suitable steps" to "minimize the risk" of users viewing illegal material on their platforms and to take down it swiftly when they are notified of it.
