The online platform X has caused widespread outrage after people utilized its AI chatbot Grok to alter images of women by taking off their clothing.
Several cases have surfaced where the system has been used to virtually strip female subjects to show them in bikinis without consent, as well as to insert them in sexualized situations.
Company Response and Regulatory Stance
XAI, the company behind Grok, did not respond to requests for comment, aside from an auto-reply response stating "legacy media lies".
A Home Office official stated that legislation is being brought forward to prohibit nudification technology. Under a proposed criminal offence, anyone who provided such technology would "be subject to 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 a lack of consequences."
Oversight Body Stance and Tool Capabilities
The communications watchdog Ofcom said platforms must "evaluate the danger" of people seeing unlawful material on their platforms, but did not confirm whether it was presently examining X or Grok in concerning artificial intelligence pictures.
Grok is a no-cost artificial intelligence—with some premium features—which answers X users' requests when they reference it in a post.
It is often used to give commentary or additional background to other posters' comments, but people on X are also can modify an uploaded picture through its AI image editing tool.
History of Criticism and Rules
The chatbot has been criticised for enabling users to produce images and videos with nudity and sexualised material, and it was earlier accused of making inappropriate content of celebrities.
"X has been enabling the production and spread of these images for months without taking any measures and we have not seen any challenge by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own terms of service prohibits "depicting images of individuals in a graphic fashion".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was against the law to "make or circulate private pictures or child sexual abuse material" and clarified this covered sexual deepfakes created with AI.
It said networks such as X were obligated to take "necessary steps" to "reduce the danger" of users coming across unlawful material on their services and to delete it promptly when they learn of it.
