The social media network X has provoked significant outrage after users utilized its AI chatbot Grok to manipulate photos of women by stripping their garments.
Several examples have surfaced where the technology has been used to virtually strip female subjects to render them in bikinis without permission, as well as to insert them in inappropriate scenarios.
Company Response and Regulatory Stance
XAI, the organization responsible for Grok, did not respond to questions, aside from an auto-reply message stating "legacy media lies".
A government spokesperson stated that new laws is being brought forward to ban nudification software. Under a proposed criminal offence, anyone who provided such tools would "face a prison sentence and heavy penalties".
"The platform is capable of halting these forms of misuse if they desired to," said a law professor, adding they "appear to enjoy a lack of consequences."
Regulator Stance and Platform Functionality
The communications watchdog Ofcom said platforms must "consider the potential" of people seeing illegal content on their platforms, but did not specify whether it was at this time examining X or Grok in regarding artificial intelligence images.
Grok is a no-cost AI assistant—with some paid-for functions—which reacts to X users' prompts when they mention it in a post.
It is frequently used to give reactions or more context to other users' comments, but people on X are also capable of edit an posted image through its artificial intelligence picture modification feature.
Background of Criticism and Rules
The chatbot has been criticised for permitting users to create photos and videos with explicit content and sexually suggestive material, and it was earlier alleged to have been involved in making sexually explicit material of celebrities.
"The platform has been allowing the creation and distribution of these images for months without taking any steps and we have not seen any challenge by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own terms of service prohibits "portraying images of people in a graphic way".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was against the law to "generate or circulate non-consensual intimate images or child sexual abuse material" and clarified this covered sexual deepfakes made with AI.
It said platforms such as X were obligated to take "appropriate measures" to "lessen the risk" of users viewing unlawful material on their services and to delete it swiftly when they are notified of it.
