The online network X has provoked significant outrage after people utilized its AI chatbot Grok to change photos of women by removing their attire.
Multiple cases have surfaced where the system has been employed to remove clothing from women to show them in swimwear without permission, as well as to put them in inappropriate contexts.
Developer Response and Legal Stance
XAI, the firm responsible for Grok, remained silent to inquiries, except for an automatically-generated response stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A Home Office spokesperson stated that legislation is being introduced to prohibit image stripping software. Under a proposed law, anyone who provided such tools would "receive a jail term and significant fines".
"The platform could prevent these types of abuse if they wanted to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "appear to enjoy impunity."
Regulator Position and Tool Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "consider the danger" of people seeing unlawful material on their networks, but did not specify whether it was at this time investigating X or Grok in concerning AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a free artificial intelligence—with some premium functions—which responds to X users' prompts when they tag it in a tweet.
It is often used to give commentary or additional background to other posters' comments, but people on X are also capable of edit an posted image through its AI image editing function.
History of Controversy and Rules
The tool has been criticised for permitting users to generate photos and videos with explicit content and sexually suggestive material, and it was previously accused of making graphic content of celebrities.
"The platform has been allowing the production and sharing of these pictures for a long time without taking any action and we have yet to see any intervention by oversight bodies," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy prohibits "showing likenesses of persons in a pornographic fashion".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was against the law to "make or circulate non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and stated this included sexual deepfakes made with AI.
It said platforms such as X were obligated to take "appropriate actions" to "minimize the risk" of users encountering unlawful content on their services and to delete it promptly when they are notified of it.
