The online network X has sparked major outrage after people used its AI chatbot Grok to manipulate photos of women by removing their garments.
Numerous instances have emerged where the system has been employed to virtually strip female subjects to show them in bikinis without consent, as well as to put them in inappropriate scenarios.
Developer Reaction and Legal Stance
XAI, the firm behind Grok, did not respond to requests for comment, other than an automatically-generated message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A Home Office spokesperson stated that new laws is being introduced to outlaw image stripping software. Under a new law, anyone who supplied such tools would "be subject to a prison sentence and significant penalties".
"X or Grok could prevent these forms of misuse if they wanted to," said a law professor, adding they "seem to have impunity."
Oversight Body Stance and Tool Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said platforms must "assess the danger" of people viewing unlawful material on their services, but did not confirm whether it was currently investigating X or Grok in concerning artificial intelligence images.
Grok is a free artificial intelligence—with some additional functions—which reacts to X users' prompts when they reference it in a post.
It is commonly used to provide commentary or further context to other users' remarks, but people on X are also can edit an uploaded picture through its artificial intelligence picture modification feature.
Background of Controversy and Policy
The chatbot has been condemned for enabling users to produce pictures and videos with explicit content and sexualised content, and it was earlier alleged to have been involved in making sexually explicit material of celebrities.
"X has been permitting the creation and distribution of these images for a long time without taking any action and we have not witnessed any intervention by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own terms of service prohibits "showing likenesses of individuals in a pornographic way".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was illegal to "make or distribute private pictures or illegal content" and clarified this covered sexual deepfakes generated with AI.
It said networks such as X were required to take "suitable measures" to "reduce the danger" of users coming across illegal material on their platforms and to delete it quickly when they are notified of it.
