The online network X has caused widespread backlash after individuals used its AI chatbot Grok to change pictures of women by taking off their clothing.
Numerous instances have emerged where the tool has been used to virtually strip female subjects to make them appear in bikinis without consent, as well as to insert them in inappropriate situations.
Developer Response and Regulatory Position
XAI, the company behind Grok, did not respond to questions, aside from an automatically-generated message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A Home Office official stated that legislation is being proposed to ban image stripping technology. Under a proposed law, anyone who supplied such technology would "receive a jail term and significant penalties".
"The platform could prevent these forms of misuse if they desired to," said a law professor, adding they "operate with a lack of consequences."
Regulator Stance and Tool Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "consider the danger" of people viewing illegal content on their services, but stopped short of confirming whether it was at this time looking into X or Grok in relation to artificial intelligence images.
Grok is a free AI assistant—with some additional functions—which responds to X users' prompts when they tag it in a post.
It is often used to provide reactions or additional background to other users' remarks, but people on X are also able to edit an uploaded image through its artificial intelligence picture modification function.
History of Controversy and Rules
The chatbot has been condemned for permitting users to produce photos and videos with explicit content and sexualised content, and it was earlier accused of generating sexually explicit content of public figures.
"The platform has been enabling the production and spread of these pictures for months without taking any measures and we have not witnessed any intervention by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own terms of service forbids "portraying images of individuals in a graphic way".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "create or circulate non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and confirmed this included sexual deepfakes created with AI.
It said platforms such as X were required to take "necessary measures" to "reduce the risk" of users coming across illegal content on their platforms and to take down it promptly when they become aware of it.
