The online network X has provoked major backlash after individuals utilized its AI chatbot Grok to alter pictures of women by taking off their clothing.
Numerous instances have been seen where the system has been used to virtually strip female subjects to make them appear in swimwear non-consensually, as well as to put them in inappropriate contexts.
Company Response and Legal Stance
XAI, the organization responsible for Grok, remained silent to questions, other than an auto-reply response stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A government spokesperson stated that new laws is being proposed to ban image stripping software. Under a proposed law, anyone who provided such technology would "face a jail term and significant fines".
"X or Grok has the ability to stop these types of misuse if they desired to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "appear to enjoy a lack of consequences."
Regulator Stance and Tool Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "assess the potential" of people viewing unlawful material on their services, but stopped short of confirming whether it was at this time examining X or Grok in relation to AI-generated images.
Grok is a free AI assistant—with some premium features—which reacts to X users' requests when they tag it in a post.
It is frequently used to offer reactions or additional background to other posters' comments, but people on X are also can edit an uploaded photo through its AI image editing tool.
Background of Criticism and Policy
The tool has been faulted for allowing users to create photos and videos with nudity and sexualised material, and it was earlier alleged to have been involved in generating sexually explicit material of celebrities.
"X has been permitting the generation and sharing of these images for a long time without taking any measures and we have not seen any intervention by oversight bodies," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own terms of service prohibits "depicting images of people in a graphic manner".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was illegal to "make or circulate deepfakes or illegal content" and clarified this applied to explicit AI images generated with AI.
It said services such as X were required to take "appropriate steps" to "reduce the risk" of users viewing illegal material on their platforms and to remove it quickly when they learn of it.
