The social media platform X has caused major outrage after users used its AI chatbot Grok to change pictures of females by removing their garments.
Numerous cases have emerged where the system has been employed to virtually strip women to make them appear in bikinis non-consensually, as well as to put them in sexually explicit scenarios.
Developer Response and Regulatory Position
XAI, the company that created Grok, offered no comment to inquiries, except for an auto-reply response stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A government spokesperson stated that legislation is being introduced to prohibit nudification tools. Under a proposed law, anyone who supplied such tools would "be subject to a jail term and heavy penalties".
"The platform is capable of halting these types of abuse if they desired to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "appear to enjoy impunity."
Oversight Body Stance and Platform Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "evaluate the danger" of people seeing illegal content on their platforms, but did not confirm whether it was presently examining X or Grok in regarding AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a free chatbot—with some paid-for features—which answers X users' queries when they mention it in a tweet.
It is frequently used to provide commentary or further context to other posters' comments, but people on X are also able to alter an uploaded image through its artificial intelligence picture modification function.
History of Criticism and Policy
The system has been faulted for allowing users to produce photos and videos with nudity and sexualised content, and it was earlier accused of creating sexually explicit material of celebrities.
"X has been allowing the creation and sharing of these images for months without taking any measures and we have not witnessed any intervention by oversight bodies," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy prohibits "depicting images of individuals in a graphic way".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "make or share non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and stated this covered explicit AI images made with AI.
It said services such as X were obligated to take "suitable measures" to "reduce the risk" of users viewing unlawful material on their platforms and to take down it swiftly when they become aware of it.
