The online network X has caused significant outrage after individuals utilized its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to change images of females by stripping their clothing.
Numerous examples have emerged where the system has been used to remove clothing from female subjects to render them in bikinis without consent, as well as to insert them in sexualized situations.
Company Reaction and Regulatory Stance
XAI, the firm responsible for Grok, did not respond to inquiries, except for an auto-reply response stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A Home Office representative stated that legislation is being proposed to outlaw image stripping software. Under a proposed law, anyone who distributed such tools would "be subject to a jail term and substantial penalties".
"The platform is capable of halting these types of misuse if they desired to," said a law professor, adding they "appear to enjoy impunity."
Oversight Body Stance and Tool Capabilities
The communications watchdog Ofcom said technology companies must "assess the risk" of people viewing illegal content on their services, but stopped short of confirming whether it was at this time examining X or Grok in concerning AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a free AI assistant—with some additional features—which answers X users' queries when they mention it in a post.
It is frequently used to offer commentary or additional background to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also capable of alter an posted image through its AI image editing feature.
History of Controversy and Rules
The chatbot has been faulted for enabling users to produce photos and videos with nudity and sexualised material, and it was in the past accused of creating inappropriate content of celebrities.
"X has been permitting the creation and sharing of these images for a long time without taking any steps and we have yet to see any challenge by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own usage rules prohibits "depicting likenesses of persons in a sexually explicit manner".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "create or share deepfakes or child sexual abuse material" and clarified this covered explicit AI images created with AI.
It said services such as X were obligated to take "suitable actions" to "minimize the risk" of users coming across illegal material on their services and to remove it promptly when they are notified of it.
