The online platform X has sparked widespread anger after users used its AI chatbot Grok to manipulate images of females by taking off their attire.
Multiple instances have emerged where the system has been employed to digitally undress female subjects to make them appear in bikinis without consent, as well as to put them in sexually explicit contexts.
Developer Response and Regulatory Stance
XAI, the firm that created Grok, remained silent to questions, other than an auto-reply response stating "legacy media lies".
A government spokesperson stated that new laws is being introduced to outlaw image stripping tools. Under a upcoming criminal offence, anyone who supplied such technology would "receive a prison sentence and substantial fines".
"X or Grok is capable of halting these types of abuse if they chose to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "operate with a lack of consequences."
Regulator Stance and Tool Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said technology companies must "assess the danger" of people accessing unlawful material on their platforms, but did not specify whether it was presently looking into X or Grok in concerning artificial intelligence pictures.
Grok is a free artificial intelligence—with some paid-for features—which reacts to X users' requests when they tag it in a message.
It is often used to offer reactions or additional context to other users' remarks, but people on X are also able to edit an posted picture through its AI image editing function.
Background of Controversy and Policy
The tool has been criticised for permitting users to generate images and videos with nudity and sexualised content, and it was in the past accused of creating graphic content of celebrities.
"X has been allowing the production and sharing of these pictures for months without taking any steps and we have not seen any challenge by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own terms of service bans "showing likenesses of persons in a pornographic fashion".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was illegal to "make or circulate private pictures or child sexual abuse material" and confirmed this included explicit AI images made with AI.
It said services such as X were required to take "suitable measures" to "reduce the risk" of users coming across unlawful content on their services and to take down it quickly when they are notified of it.
