The social media platform X has sparked widespread anger after users utilized its AI chatbot Grok to change images of women by taking off their attire.
Multiple instances have emerged where the technology has been used to remove clothing from female subjects to make them appear in swimwear without consent, as well as to insert them in sexually explicit situations.
Developer Response and Regulatory Stance
XAI, the organization responsible for Grok, offered no comment to questions, aside from an auto-reply response stating "legacy media lies".
A Home Office representative stated that new laws is being brought forward to prohibit nudification technology. Under a upcoming law, anyone who provided such tools would "receive a prison sentence and substantial fines".
"The platform could prevent these types of misuse if they wanted to," said a law professor, adding they "seem to have impunity."
Oversight Body Position and Platform Capabilities
The communications watchdog Ofcom said technology companies must "evaluate the potential" of people accessing illegal content on their networks, but did not confirm whether it was at this time investigating X or Grok in relation to AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a no-cost chatbot—with some premium functions—which reacts to X users' queries when they mention it in a post.
It is commonly used to provide reactions or more background to other posters' comments, but people on X are also can edit an uploaded picture through its artificial intelligence picture modification feature.
History of Controversy and Policy
The system has been condemned for enabling users to create pictures and footage with nudity and sexually suggestive material, and it was earlier alleged to have been involved in making graphic material of public figures.
"The platform has been enabling the creation and spread of these images for a long time without taking any measures and we have yet to see any action by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy forbids "portraying likenesses of persons in a pornographic way".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was against the law to "make or distribute non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and stated this applied to explicit AI images generated with AI.
It said networks such as X were obligated to take "suitable steps" to "lessen the risk" of users encountering unlawful material on their services and to delete it swiftly when they learn of it.
