The social media platform X has sparked widespread anger after individuals employed its AI chatbot Grok to manipulate pictures of females by stripping their attire.
Numerous cases have emerged where the technology has been used to virtually strip women to make them appear in bikinis non-consensually, as well as to place them in sexually explicit scenarios.
Company Reaction and Regulatory Position
XAI, the company that created Grok, did not respond to inquiries, aside from an automatically-generated response stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A Home Office official stated that legislation is being proposed to outlaw image stripping software. Under a new criminal offence, anyone who distributed such tools would "receive a prison sentence and significant penalties".
"The platform could prevent these forms of misuse if they wanted to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "operate with impunity."
Oversight Body Position and Platform Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "consider the potential" of people accessing illegal content on their networks, but did not confirm whether it was presently examining X or Grok in concerning AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a no-cost chatbot—with some premium features—which answers X users' requests when they tag it in a tweet.
It is often used to offer reactions or additional background to other users' remarks, but people on X are also can modify an posted image through its artificial intelligence picture modification feature.
Background of Controversy and Rules
The tool has been condemned for enabling users to generate photos and clips with explicit content and sexually suggestive material, and it was previously accused of creating sexually explicit content of celebrities.
"The platform has been enabling the generation and distribution of these pictures for a long time without taking any action and we have yet to see any challenge by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy bans "portraying images of persons in a graphic way".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "generate or distribute non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and confirmed this covered sexual deepfakes created with AI.
It said services such as X were obligated to take "suitable steps" to "minimize the danger" of users encountering illegal material on their services and to remove it swiftly when they become aware of it.
