The online network X has provoked major outrage after individuals utilized its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to alter images of females by stripping their attire.
Multiple instances have emerged where the technology has been used to virtually strip women to show them in swimwear without permission, as well as to insert them in sexualized contexts.
Company Reaction and Regulatory Position
XAI, the company that created Grok, offered no comment to requests for comment, aside from an automatically-generated response stating "legacy media lies".
A government representative stated that legislation is being brought forward to prohibit image stripping tools. Under a new law, anyone who distributed such tools would "face a jail term and heavy fines".
"The platform has the ability to stop these types of abuse if they wanted to," said a law professor, adding they "appear to enjoy a lack of consequences."
Regulator Position and Platform Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "consider the danger" of people seeing unlawful material on their networks, but did not confirm whether it was currently examining X or Grok in relation to AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a free AI assistant—with some premium features—which reacts to X users' queries when they reference it in a tweet.
It is commonly used to offer reactions or further background to other users' comments, but people on X are also can alter an uploaded photo through its artificial intelligence picture modification feature.
Background of Controversy and Rules
The system has been faulted for allowing users to generate photos and footage with nudity and sexually suggestive material, and it was earlier alleged to have been involved in creating sexually explicit content of celebrities.
"X has been permitting the creation and sharing of these images for months without taking any measures and we have not witnessed any challenge by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own usage rules forbids "portraying images of persons in a sexually explicit way".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was illegal to "make or distribute private pictures or child sexual abuse material" and clarified this included sexual deepfakes made with AI.
It said networks such as X were mandated to take "necessary actions" to "reduce the risk" of users coming across illegal content on their platforms and to delete it quickly when they are notified of it.
