The online network X has sparked widespread anger after people employed its AI chatbot Grok to alter pictures of women by removing their attire.
Numerous instances have emerged where the technology has been used to virtually strip female subjects to show them in swimwear without permission, as well as to place them in sexualized contexts.
Developer Reaction and Legal Stance
XAI, the company responsible for Grok, offered no comment to questions, other than an standard message stating "legacy media lies".
A Home Office representative stated that new laws is being introduced to prohibit image stripping software. Under a upcoming law, anyone who supplied such technology would "face a prison sentence and substantial penalties".
"The platform is capable of halting these types of abuse if they chose to," said a law professor, adding they "seem to have impunity."
Oversight Body Stance and Platform Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said platforms must "evaluate the risk" of people viewing illegal content on their platforms, but stopped short of confirming whether it was at this time investigating X or Grok in relation to AI-generated images.
Grok is a free artificial intelligence—with some premium features—which reacts to X users' requests when they tag it in a message.
It is often used to give reactions or additional context to other users' comments, but people on X are also able to edit an uploaded picture through its AI image editing feature.
Background of Criticism and Rules
The tool has been criticised for enabling users to generate photos and videos with explicit content and sexually suggestive content, and it was previously alleged to have been involved in creating graphic content of celebrities.
"X has been permitting the creation and spread of these images for a long time without taking any measures and we have yet to see any intervention by oversight bodies," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy bans "depicting images of persons in a graphic way".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "make or circulate non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and stated this applied to sexual deepfakes made with AI.
It said networks such as X were required to take "appropriate actions" to "lessen the risk" of users coming across unlawful content on their platforms and to remove it swiftly when they learn of it.
