The online platform X has sparked significant outrage after users utilized its AI chatbot Grok to alter pictures of females by removing their attire.
Several examples have been seen where the technology has been used to remove clothing from women to make them appear in swimwear without permission, as well as to place them in sexualized contexts.
Company Reaction and Legal Position
XAI, the company responsible for Grok, did not respond to requests for comment, aside from an standard response stating "legacy media lies".
A government representative stated that legislation is being introduced to prohibit image stripping technology. Under a upcoming law, anyone who supplied such tools would "receive a jail term and substantial fines".
"The platform could prevent these forms of misuse if they chose to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "seem to have impunity."
Regulator Position and Tool Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "consider the risk" of people viewing unlawful material on their platforms, but did not specify whether it was currently looking into X or Grok in regarding artificial intelligence pictures.
Grok is a free AI assistant—with some premium functions—which answers X users' queries when they reference it in a message.
It is commonly used to offer commentary or further context to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also able to modify an posted image through its artificial intelligence picture modification feature.
Background of Criticism and Policy
The tool has been faulted for allowing users to create photos and footage with nudity and sexualised material, and it was previously alleged to have been involved in creating inappropriate material of public figures.
"X has been permitting the generation and distribution of these images for a long time without taking any action and we have not witnessed any action by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy forbids "showing images of persons in a graphic fashion".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was illegal to "create or circulate deepfakes or illegal content" and confirmed this applied to sexual deepfakes generated with AI.
It said services such as X were required to take "appropriate measures" to "reduce the risk" of users encountering unlawful content on their platforms and to delete it promptly when they are notified of it.
