The online network X has caused major anger after people used its AI chatbot Grok to manipulate images of women by removing their clothing.
Multiple examples have emerged where the technology has been used to remove clothing from female subjects to show them in swimwear non-consensually, as well as to put them in sexualized situations.
Developer Reaction and Regulatory Position
XAI, the firm responsible for Grok, offered no comment to questions, aside from an auto-reply response stating "legacy media lies".
A Home Office official stated that legislation is being introduced to prohibit image stripping technology. Under a upcoming criminal offence, anyone who distributed such tools would "be subject to a prison sentence and substantial penalties".
"X or Grok could prevent these types of abuse if they desired to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "appear to enjoy a lack of consequences."
Regulator Position and Tool Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "assess the potential" of people accessing illegal content on their networks, but stopped short of confirming whether it was presently investigating 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' queries when they tag it in a post.
It is frequently used to provide commentary or more background to other users' comments, but people on X are also capable of alter an uploaded photo through its artificial intelligence picture modification tool.
History of Criticism and Policy
The chatbot has been condemned for enabling users to generate pictures and clips with nudity and sexually suggestive content, and it was in the past accused of generating inappropriate content of public figures.
"The platform has been enabling the generation and spread of these images for a long time without taking any steps and we have yet to see any action by oversight bodies," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy forbids "depicting images of persons in a graphic fashion".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "create or circulate private pictures or child sexual abuse material" and confirmed this applied to sexual deepfakes made with AI.
It said services such as X were required to take "suitable steps" to "minimize the risk" of users encountering illegal content on their services and to take down it quickly when they become aware of it.
