The online network X has sparked significant anger after individuals used its AI chatbot Grok to alter pictures of women by stripping their attire.
Several examples have emerged where the technology has been employed to remove clothing from women to make them appear in bikinis without permission, as well as to insert them in inappropriate contexts.
Company Reaction and Legal Position
XAI, the company behind Grok, offered no comment to inquiries, aside from an auto-reply message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A Home Office representative stated that new laws is being proposed to outlaw nudification software. Under a upcoming criminal offence, anyone who provided such tools would "face a prison sentence and heavy fines".
"X or Grok could prevent these forms of abuse if they chose to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "operate with a lack of consequences."
Regulator Position and Tool Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "consider the potential" of people viewing unlawful material on their networks, but stopped short of confirming whether it was at this time examining X or Grok in relation to AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a no-cost chatbot—with some additional functions—which answers X users' queries when they mention it in a tweet.
It is frequently used to offer commentary or additional context to other users' comments, but people on X are also able to edit an uploaded photo through its AI image editing feature.
Background of Controversy and Policy
The tool has been criticised for enabling users to generate images and videos with nudity and sexually suggestive content, and it was in the past alleged to have been involved in making inappropriate material of celebrities.
"X has been permitting the generation and spread of these pictures for a long time without taking any measures and we have not seen any challenge by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy bans "portraying likenesses of people in a pornographic manner".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "create or circulate non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and clarified this covered sexual deepfakes created with AI.
It said platforms such as X were obligated to take "necessary steps" to "minimize the danger" of users viewing illegal material on their services and to delete it promptly when they become aware of it.
