The social media network X has caused widespread anger after people utilized its AI chatbot Grok to alter photos of females by taking off their garments.
Several instances have emerged where the system has been used to virtually strip female subjects to make them appear in swimwear without consent, as well as to put them in sexualized scenarios.
Developer Reaction and Legal Position
XAI, the organization responsible for Grok, offered no comment to inquiries, aside from an auto-reply message stating "legacy media lies".
A Home Office spokesperson stated that legislation is being brought forward to outlaw image stripping software. Under a new criminal offence, anyone who supplied such technology would "be subject to a jail term and significant penalties".
"The platform is capable of halting these forms of misuse if they chose to," said a law professor, adding they "appear to enjoy impunity."
Regulator Position and Tool Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "assess the risk" of people accessing illegal content on their platforms, but did not confirm whether it was presently examining X or Grok in concerning artificial intelligence pictures.
Grok is a free chatbot—with some premium functions—which answers X users' requests when they tag it in a message.
It is often used to provide reactions or more context to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also able to alter an posted picture through its artificial intelligence picture modification tool.
Background of Controversy and Policy
The chatbot has been faulted for permitting users to generate images and footage with nudity and sexualised content, and it was previously accused of creating inappropriate content of public figures.
"The platform has been allowing the creation and spread of these images for a long time without taking any action and we have not seen any intervention by oversight bodies," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy bans "portraying images of individuals in a pornographic manner".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was illegal to "make or share deepfakes or child sexual abuse material" and clarified this covered explicit AI images made with AI.
It said services such as X were required to take "suitable actions" to "minimize the danger" of users coming across illegal material on their services and to remove it quickly when they are notified of it.
