The online network X has provoked major anger after people utilized its AI chatbot Grok to change pictures of women by removing their garments.
Numerous cases have surfaced where the tool has been used to virtually strip women to make them appear in bikinis non-consensually, as well as to place them in sexualized contexts.
Developer Response and Regulatory Stance
XAI, the organization that created Grok, did not respond to questions, except for an auto-reply message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A Home Office official stated that new laws is being proposed to outlaw image stripping technology. Under a upcoming criminal offence, anyone who supplied such tools would "face a jail term and significant penalties".
"X or Grok has the ability to stop these types of misuse if they chose to," said a law professor, adding they "seem to have a lack of consequences."
Regulator Position and Tool Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "consider the potential" of people seeing illegal content on their networks, but did not specify whether it was at this time examining X or Grok in regarding artificial intelligence pictures.
Grok is a free AI assistant—with some premium functions—which answers X users' prompts when they mention it in a tweet.
It is often used to offer reactions or additional context to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also able to alter an posted image through its AI image editing tool.
History of Criticism and Policy
The chatbot has been condemned for allowing users to produce photos and clips with explicit content and sexually suggestive material, and it was in the past accused of creating inappropriate material of public figures.
"X has been allowing the generation and sharing of these pictures for months without taking any steps and we have yet to see any action by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own usage rules prohibits "showing likenesses of individuals in a pornographic way".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "generate or distribute non-consensual intimate images or child sexual abuse material" and clarified this applied to explicit AI images created with AI.
It said services such as X were required to take "necessary steps" to "reduce the danger" of users encountering unlawful material on their platforms and to take down it quickly when they learn of it.
