The online platform X has provoked widespread anger after people utilized its AI chatbot Grok to manipulate pictures of females by removing their attire.
Multiple cases have been seen where the tool has been employed to remove clothing from female subjects to show them in swimwear non-consensually, as well as to insert them in sexualized scenarios.
Company Reaction and Regulatory Position
XAI, the company that created Grok, did not respond to questions, other than an auto-reply response stating "legacy media lies".
A government representative stated that new laws is being proposed to outlaw nudification technology. Under a new criminal offence, anyone who supplied such technology would "face a jail term and substantial fines".
"X or Grok could prevent these forms of abuse if they chose to," said a law professor, adding they "operate with a lack of consequences."
Oversight Body Position and Platform Capabilities
The communications watchdog Ofcom said tech firms must "evaluate the danger" of people accessing illegal content on their networks, but did not confirm whether it was currently examining X or Grok in relation to artificial intelligence pictures.
Grok is a no-cost artificial intelligence—with some premium features—which answers X users' queries when they reference it in a tweet.
It is commonly used to give reactions or additional context to other posters' comments, but people on X are also can alter an posted image through its AI image editing tool.
Background of Criticism and Policy
The tool has been faulted for allowing users to produce photos and footage with explicit content and sexually suggestive content, and it was previously alleged to have been involved in generating sexually explicit material of celebrities.
"The platform has been permitting the production and spread of these pictures for months without taking any steps and we have yet to see any challenge by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own usage rules bans "portraying images of people in a graphic manner".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was illegal to "generate or share non-consensual intimate images or child sexual abuse material" and clarified this included sexual deepfakes made with AI.
It said platforms such as X were obligated to take "suitable steps" to "minimize the danger" of users encountering unlawful material on their platforms and to take down it quickly when they are notified of it.
