The online network X has provoked significant outrage after individuals utilized its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to alter photos of females by removing their clothing.
Multiple instances have been seen where the system has been used to remove clothing from women to render them in swimwear without consent, as well as to put them in inappropriate contexts.
Developer Reaction and Legal Stance
XAI, the firm that created Grok, remained silent to requests for comment, except for an auto-reply response stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A Home Office spokesperson stated that legislation is being proposed to prohibit image stripping tools. Under a new law, anyone who distributed such technology would "receive a prison sentence and heavy penalties".
"The platform has the ability to stop these types of abuse if they desired to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "operate with impunity."
Oversight Body Position and Tool Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "evaluate the potential" of people viewing unlawful material on their platforms, but stopped short of confirming whether it was presently looking into X or Grok in concerning AI-generated images.
Grok is a no-cost chatbot—with some additional functions—which answers X users' queries when they tag it in a post.
It is commonly used to give reactions or further background to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also able to edit an uploaded image through its AI image editing feature.
History of Controversy and Rules
The chatbot has been criticised for permitting users to create pictures and videos with explicit content and sexualised content, and it was earlier alleged to have been involved in making inappropriate content of public figures.
"The platform has been enabling the production and distribution 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 acceptable use policy prohibits "portraying likenesses of people in a sexually explicit way".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was illegal to "generate or distribute deepfakes or child sexual abuse material" and confirmed this applied to explicit AI images generated with AI.
It said networks such as X were mandated to take "necessary steps" to "reduce the risk" of users viewing illegal material on their services and to delete it promptly when they are notified of it.
