The online platform X has sparked widespread anger after individuals utilized its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to change pictures of females by removing their clothing.
Numerous examples have surfaced where the tool has been used to virtually strip women to show them in swimwear non-consensually, as well as to put them in inappropriate scenarios.
Company Reaction and Regulatory Stance
XAI, the firm responsible for Grok, did not respond to requests for comment, except for an standard response stating "legacy media lies".
A government spokesperson stated that legislation is being proposed to outlaw image stripping tools. Under a new criminal offence, anyone who provided such technology would "receive a prison sentence and heavy penalties".
"X or Grok has the ability to stop these types of misuse if they desired to," said a law professor, adding they "operate with impunity."
Oversight Body Stance and Tool Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said technology companies must "assess the potential" of people viewing illegal content on their networks, but stopped short of confirming whether it was presently looking into X or Grok in regarding AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a free artificial intelligence—with some paid-for functions—which responds to X users' queries when they mention it in a message.
It is often used to give commentary or additional context to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also able to alter an posted photo through its AI image editing feature.
Background of Controversy and Rules
The chatbot has been criticised for enabling users to generate images and clips with explicit content and sexually suggestive material, and it was earlier accused of generating graphic content of celebrities.
"The platform has been enabling the creation and sharing of these images for a long time without taking any action and we have not seen any action by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy prohibits "showing likenesses of individuals in a pornographic manner".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was against the law to "generate or distribute private pictures or child sexual abuse material" and clarified this applied to explicit AI images created with AI.
It said platforms such as X were mandated to take "necessary actions" to "reduce the danger" of users viewing unlawful content on their services and to remove it swiftly when they become aware of it.
