The online platform X has provoked widespread backlash after people utilized its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to alter images of women by taking off their attire.
Numerous examples have surfaced where the system has been used to digitally undress female subjects to make them appear in bikinis non-consensually, as well as to put them in sexually explicit contexts.
Developer Reaction and Legal Position
XAI, the company responsible for Grok, remained silent to questions, other than an auto-reply response stating "legacy media lies".
A Home Office representative stated that new laws is being proposed to prohibit image stripping software. Under a upcoming law, anyone who distributed such tools would "face a jail term and heavy fines".
"X or Grok has the ability to stop these types of misuse if they wanted to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "appear to enjoy a lack of consequences."
Oversight Body Position and Tool Functionality
The communications watchdog Ofcom said platforms must "consider the danger" of people seeing illegal content on their networks, but did not confirm whether it was currently investigating X or Grok in concerning artificial intelligence images.
Grok is a free AI assistant—with some additional features—which responds to X users' prompts when they mention it in a message.
It is often used to give commentary or more background to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also capable of edit an posted image through its artificial intelligence picture modification function.
Background of Controversy and Rules
The chatbot has been faulted for enabling users to produce images and videos with nudity and sexualised material, and it was previously accused of creating sexually explicit material of public figures.
"The platform has been enabling the production and distribution of these images for months without taking any measures and we have yet to see any challenge by oversight bodies," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy prohibits "showing likenesses of people in a sexually explicit fashion".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "generate or share deepfakes or illegal content" and stated this applied to sexual deepfakes generated with AI.
It said platforms such as X were required to take "appropriate measures" to "lessen the danger" of users coming across unlawful material on their platforms and to remove it promptly when they are notified of it.
