The social media network X has sparked widespread backlash after individuals used its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to alter images of women by taking off their clothing.
Multiple cases have emerged where the tool has been used to remove clothing from female subjects to make them appear in swimwear without permission, as well as to put them in inappropriate situations.
Company Reaction and Regulatory Position
XAI, the company that created Grok, offered no comment to questions, except for an auto-reply response stating "legacy media lies".
A government representative stated that new laws is being introduced to outlaw image stripping tools. Under a proposed criminal offence, anyone who provided such technology would "receive a jail term and significant penalties".
"X or Grok could prevent these forms of misuse if they wanted to," said a law professor, adding they "seem to have impunity."
Oversight Body Position and Platform Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "evaluate the risk" of people accessing illegal content on their services, but did not confirm whether it was at this time examining X or Grok in concerning AI-generated images.
Grok is a free chatbot—with some paid-for functions—which responds to X users' requests when they mention it in a message.
It is frequently used to provide reactions or additional background to other users' remarks, but people on X are also capable of modify an posted image through its AI image editing tool.
Background of Criticism and Policy
The tool has been condemned for permitting users to produce images and videos with nudity and sexually suggestive content, and it was earlier accused of making sexually explicit content of public figures.
"The platform has been allowing the generation and sharing of these pictures for months without taking any action and we have not witnessed any intervention by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own usage rules bans "portraying likenesses of individuals in a sexually explicit manner".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was against the law to "create or distribute non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and clarified this included explicit AI images generated with AI.
It said platforms such as X were obligated to take "suitable steps" to "minimize the risk" of users encountering illegal content on their services and to take down it quickly when they learn of it.
