The online platform X has sparked significant outrage after people employed its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to change photos of women by taking off their attire.
Numerous cases have surfaced where the tool has been employed to remove clothing from female subjects to make them appear in bikinis without permission, as well as to place them in sexually explicit situations.
Developer Reaction and Legal Stance
XAI, the firm that created Grok, did not respond to inquiries, aside from an auto-reply message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A government spokesperson stated that new laws is being introduced to outlaw image stripping technology. Under a new criminal offence, anyone who supplied such technology would "be subject to a prison sentence and heavy penalties".
"The platform has the ability to stop these forms of abuse if they chose to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "appear to enjoy a lack of consequences."
Oversight Body Position and Platform Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said technology companies must "evaluate the danger" of people viewing illegal content on their networks, but stopped short of confirming whether it was currently looking into X or Grok in concerning AI-generated images.
Grok is a free AI assistant—with some premium functions—which responds to X users' queries when they reference it in a tweet.
It is often used to give commentary or additional context to other users' comments, but people on X are also able to modify an posted image through its artificial intelligence picture modification feature.
History of Controversy and Rules
The tool has been faulted for permitting users to produce photos and footage with explicit content and sexualised content, and it was earlier alleged to have been involved in creating graphic material of public figures.
"The platform has been allowing the creation and distribution of these pictures for months without taking any measures and we have not seen any intervention by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own terms of service forbids "depicting likenesses of people in a graphic fashion".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was against the law to "generate or circulate private pictures or child sexual abuse material" and stated this included sexual deepfakes created with AI.
It said platforms such as X were mandated to take "appropriate measures" to "reduce the danger" of users viewing unlawful content on their services and to take down it quickly when they are notified of it.
