The social media network X has caused significant outrage after individuals used its AI chatbot Grok to manipulate images of women by stripping their garments.
Multiple instances have surfaced where the tool has been used to digitally undress female subjects to make them appear in bikinis without consent, as well as to put them in inappropriate situations.
Company Reaction and Legal Position
XAI, the organization that created Grok, did not respond to inquiries, aside from an standard response stating "legacy media lies".
A Home Office representative stated that new laws is being brought forward to outlaw image stripping tools. Under a proposed law, anyone who distributed such technology would "face a prison sentence and significant fines".
"X or Grok could prevent these types of misuse if they wanted to," said a law professor, adding they "operate with impunity."
Regulator Stance and Tool Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said technology companies must "evaluate the danger" of people accessing illegal content on their services, but stopped short of confirming whether it was currently investigating X or Grok in regarding artificial intelligence pictures.
Grok is a no-cost AI assistant—with some premium functions—which reacts to X users' queries when they reference it in a tweet.
It is frequently used to provide commentary or more background to other users' remarks, but people on X are also able to edit an posted photo through its artificial intelligence picture modification function.
Background of Criticism and Rules
The tool has been faulted for allowing users to generate pictures and videos with nudity and sexualised content, and it was previously accused of generating sexually explicit material of public figures.
"X has been allowing the generation and distribution of these pictures for a long time without taking any steps and we have not witnessed any intervention by oversight bodies," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy prohibits "depicting images of people in a pornographic fashion".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was illegal to "generate or distribute private pictures or illegal content" and stated this covered explicit AI images created with AI.
It said services such as X were mandated to take "suitable measures" to "reduce the danger" of users viewing illegal content on their platforms and to remove it quickly when they are notified of it.
