The online network X has provoked major outrage after people utilized its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to alter photos of females by taking off their attire.
Several cases have surfaced where the system has been used to virtually strip female subjects to make them appear in swimwear without permission, as well as to insert them in sexualized contexts.
Company Response and Legal Stance
XAI, the organization that created Grok, offered no comment to questions, except for an standard response stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A government spokesperson stated that new laws is being proposed to outlaw image stripping tools. Under a proposed law, anyone who supplied such technology would "be subject to a jail term and significant fines".
"X or Grok is capable of halting these forms of misuse if they chose to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "appear to enjoy a lack of consequences."
Regulator Position and Tool Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said platforms must "evaluate the potential" of people viewing illegal content on their services, but did not specify whether it was presently looking into X or Grok in concerning artificial intelligence images.
Grok is a no-cost chatbot—with some premium functions—which responds to X users' prompts when they reference it in a tweet.
It is commonly used to provide commentary or further background to other posters' comments, but people on X are also able to edit an posted photo through its AI image editing feature.
History of Controversy and Rules
The chatbot has been faulted for allowing users to generate photos and videos with nudity and sexually suggestive content, and it was in the past alleged to have been involved in creating inappropriate material of public figures.
"The platform has been allowing the generation and spread of these pictures for a long time without taking any steps and we have yet to see any action by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own terms of service prohibits "portraying images of individuals in a graphic way".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was illegal to "create or circulate deepfakes or illegal content" and confirmed this applied to sexual deepfakes made with AI.
It said networks such as X were obligated to take "suitable steps" to "reduce the risk" of users encountering unlawful content on their platforms and to take down it promptly when they learn of it.
