The online network X has caused major anger after users utilized its AI chatbot Grok to alter pictures of women by taking off their attire.
Multiple cases have emerged where the technology has been employed to digitally undress female subjects to show them in bikinis without permission, as well as to insert them in sexualized scenarios.
Company Reaction and Legal Stance
XAI, the firm responsible for Grok, offered no comment to inquiries, except for an automatically-generated message stating "legacy media lies".
A Home Office representative stated that legislation is being brought forward to prohibit image stripping software. Under a proposed law, anyone who supplied such technology would "be subject to a jail term and heavy fines".
"X or Grok could prevent these types of misuse if they desired to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "operate with a lack of consequences."
Oversight Body Stance and Tool Capabilities
The communications watchdog Ofcom said technology companies must "assess the risk" of people seeing illegal content on their platforms, but stopped short of confirming whether it was currently investigating X or Grok in relation to artificial intelligence pictures.
Grok is a free chatbot—with some premium features—which reacts to X users' requests when they mention it in a message.
It is often used to give commentary or further context to other users' comments, but people on X are also can alter an uploaded photo through its artificial intelligence picture modification function.
History of Criticism and Policy
The chatbot has been condemned for enabling users to create photos and videos with explicit content and sexualised content, and it was previously accused of creating inappropriate content of public figures.
"The platform has been allowing the production and sharing of these pictures for a long time without taking any steps and we have not seen any challenge by oversight bodies," the expert added.
XAI's own usage rules bans "portraying likenesses of persons in a pornographic way".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was illegal to "make or circulate private pictures or illegal content" and stated this applied to explicit AI images generated with AI.
It said networks such as X were obligated to take "necessary measures" to "minimize the risk" of users encountering illegal material on their services and to take down it swiftly when they become aware of it.
