The online network X has caused widespread outrage after people employed its AI chatbot Grok to alter images of females by removing their attire.
Multiple cases have surfaced where the tool has been used to virtually strip female subjects to show them in bikinis non-consensually, as well as to put them in sexually explicit scenarios.
Developer Response and Regulatory Stance
XAI, the company that created Grok, did not respond to requests for comment, except for an standard response stating "legacy media lies".
A government official stated that new laws is being proposed to outlaw image stripping software. Under a new law, anyone who distributed such technology would "receive a jail term and significant fines".
"The platform has the ability to stop these forms of misuse if they desired to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "operate with impunity."
Oversight Body Position and Tool Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said technology companies must "evaluate the danger" of people accessing illegal content on their platforms, but did not specify whether it was currently examining X or Grok in concerning AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a free chatbot—with some premium functions—which answers X users' queries when they reference it in a message.
It is frequently used to offer commentary or further context to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also capable of modify an posted photo through its artificial intelligence picture modification tool.
Background of Controversy and Policy
The chatbot has been criticised for permitting users to generate images and clips with nudity and sexualised material, and it was in the past alleged to have been involved in generating graphic content of celebrities.
"X has been permitting the creation and spread of these images for months without taking any steps and we have yet to see any intervention by oversight bodies," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own usage rules bans "portraying images of persons in a sexually explicit manner".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "create or share non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and clarified this covered explicit AI images made with AI.
It said platforms such as X were mandated to take "suitable measures" to "reduce the risk" of users coming across illegal material on their services and to remove it promptly when they become aware of it.