The social media platform X has provoked widespread outrage after users employed its AI chatbot Grok to change pictures of women by taking off their garments.
Several cases have surfaced where the system has been used to digitally undress female subjects to show them in swimwear without consent, as well as to put them in sexualized scenarios.
Developer Response and Regulatory Position
XAI, the organization responsible for Grok, did not respond to questions, aside from an standard message stating "legacy media lies".
A government official stated that new laws is being introduced to outlaw image stripping software. Under a upcoming law, anyone who provided such technology would "receive a prison sentence and heavy penalties".
"X or Grok 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 Functionality
The communications watchdog Ofcom said platforms must "consider the danger" of people seeing illegal content on their platforms, but did not confirm whether it was currently investigating X or Grok in regarding artificial intelligence pictures.
Grok is a free artificial intelligence—with some additional features—which reacts to X users' requests when they tag it in a post.
It is commonly used to offer reactions or more background to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also able to modify an posted picture through its artificial intelligence picture modification tool.
Background of Criticism and Rules
The tool has been criticised for allowing users to generate pictures and footage with nudity and sexually suggestive material, and it was in the past accused of making sexually explicit material of celebrities.
"The platform has been enabling the generation and spread of these pictures for a long time without taking any measures and we have not witnessed any challenge by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own usage rules bans "depicting images of persons in a graphic way".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was illegal to "generate or share private pictures or child sexual abuse material" and clarified this included sexual deepfakes created with AI.
It said platforms such as X were required to take "appropriate measures" to "reduce the risk" of users encountering illegal material on their services and to remove it swiftly when they learn of it.
