The online network X has provoked widespread outrage after people used its AI chatbot Grok to change photos of females by taking off their attire.
Multiple instances have surfaced where the technology has been used to digitally undress women to show them in bikinis without consent, as well as to insert them in sexualized situations.
Developer Reaction and Legal Stance
XAI, the firm behind Grok, remained silent to inquiries, except for an auto-reply message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A Home Office spokesperson stated that new laws is being introduced to outlaw image stripping tools. Under a proposed criminal offence, anyone who supplied such tools would "receive a jail term and significant penalties".
"X or Grok is capable of halting these types of misuse if they chose to," said a law professor, adding they "appear to enjoy impunity."
Regulator Stance and Platform Capabilities
The communications watchdog Ofcom said technology companies must "evaluate the danger" of people seeing illegal content on their platforms, but stopped short of confirming whether it was at this time investigating X or Grok in concerning AI-generated images.
Grok is a free chatbot—with some premium functions—which responds to X users' prompts when they reference it in a post.
It is often used to give reactions or additional background to other users' remarks, but people on X are also able to edit an posted picture through its artificial intelligence picture modification function.
Background of Controversy and Policy
The chatbot has been faulted for allowing users to produce pictures and clips with nudity and sexually suggestive content, and it was in the past alleged to have been involved in making graphic material of public figures.
"X has been allowing the creation and spread of these pictures for months without taking any steps and we have not witnessed any intervention by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own terms of service prohibits "depicting likenesses of individuals in a graphic way".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was illegal to "create or share non-consensual intimate images or child sexual abuse material" and confirmed this applied to explicit AI images created with AI.
It said platforms such as X were mandated to take "appropriate actions" to "minimize the danger" of users encountering unlawful material on their platforms and to remove it swiftly when they become aware of it.
