Elon Musk's online network X has sparked widespread backlash after people utilized its AI chatbot Grok to manipulate images of women by stripping their clothing.
Several examples 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 organization responsible for Grok, remained silent to inquiries, aside from an standard response stating "legacy media lies".
A government representative stated that legislation is being proposed to outlaw image stripping tools. Under a proposed criminal offence, anyone who provided such tools would "be subject to a prison sentence and substantial penalties".
"X or Grok has the ability to stop these forms of misuse if they chose to," said a law professor, adding they "seem to have impunity."
Oversight Body Position and Platform Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said platforms must "assess the potential" of people viewing illegal content on their networks, but stopped short of confirming whether it was presently examining X or Grok in concerning AI-generated images.
Grok is a no-cost artificial intelligence—with some paid-for features—which responds to X users' prompts when they tag it in a message.
It is frequently used to give reactions or more context to other users' comments, but people on X are also capable of edit an posted photo through its artificial intelligence picture modification feature.
Background of Criticism and Rules
The system has been criticised for permitting users to generate images and videos with explicit content and sexualised content, and it was in the past alleged to have been involved in creating inappropriate material of celebrities.
"X has been allowing the creation and sharing of these pictures for a long time without taking any measures and we have not witnessed any action by oversight bodies," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy prohibits "depicting images of persons in a pornographic fashion".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "make or circulate non-consensual intimate images or child sexual abuse material" and clarified this covered sexual deepfakes made with AI.
It said platforms such as X were obligated to take "suitable actions" to "minimize the risk" of users coming across illegal content on their platforms and to delete it swiftly when they become aware of it.
