Elon Musk's online network X has sparked major anger after users used its AI chatbot Grok to alter photos of women by taking off their attire.
Several instances have been seen where the technology has been used to remove clothing from women to render them in swimwear without consent, as well as to place them in sexualized situations.
Developer Response and Regulatory Position
XAI, the company that created Grok, remained silent to requests for comment, other than an auto-reply message stating "legacy media lies".
A government spokesperson stated that new laws is being introduced to outlaw image stripping tools. Under a upcoming law, anyone who provided such tools would "face a prison sentence and substantial fines".
"X or Grok has the ability to stop these forms of abuse if they desired to," said a law professor, adding they "appear to enjoy a lack of consequences."
Oversight Body Position and Tool Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "evaluate the potential" of people accessing unlawful material on their platforms, but did not specify whether it was currently investigating X or Grok in relation to artificial intelligence images.
Grok is a no-cost AI assistant—with some premium features—which reacts to X users' prompts when they mention it in a post.
It is often used to offer reactions or more context to other users' comments, but people on X are also can alter an posted image through its artificial intelligence picture modification tool.
Background of Criticism and Rules
The chatbot has been criticised for enabling users to produce photos and clips with explicit content and sexually suggestive content, and it was previously accused of making inappropriate material of public figures.
"X has been enabling 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 usage rules forbids "portraying images of individuals in a graphic manner".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "generate or circulate private pictures or child sexual abuse material" and clarified this covered sexual deepfakes created with AI.
It said networks such as X were required to take "appropriate measures" to "minimize the danger" of users viewing illegal content on their services and to remove it quickly when they learn of it.
