The online network X has caused widespread backlash after individuals utilized its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to alter images of women by removing their clothing.
Multiple examples have surfaced where the system has been employed to virtually strip women to show them in bikinis without consent, as well as to insert them in sexualized situations.
Company Reaction and Regulatory Position
XAI, the company behind Grok, did not respond to questions, except for an auto-reply response stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A government representative stated that legislation is being brought forward to outlaw image stripping tools. Under a proposed criminal offence, anyone who provided such tools would "face a jail term and heavy fines".
"X or Grok is capable of halting these types of misuse if they desired to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "appear to enjoy a lack of consequences."
Regulator Stance and Tool Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "evaluate the risk" of people accessing unlawful material on their services, but stopped short of confirming whether it was presently investigating X or Grok in concerning artificial intelligence pictures.
Grok is a no-cost chatbot—with some premium functions—which responds to X users' requests when they reference it in a tweet.
It is often used to give commentary or further context to other users' remarks, but people on X are also can modify an posted picture through its artificial intelligence picture modification tool.
History of Criticism and Rules
The chatbot has been faulted for permitting users to create pictures and videos with explicit content and sexualised material, and it was previously accused of creating inappropriate material of public figures.
"The platform has been enabling the production and distribution of these images for a long time without taking any steps and we have yet to see any action by oversight bodies," the expert added.
XAI's own terms of service prohibits "portraying likenesses of people in a sexually explicit manner".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was against the law to "create or circulate deepfakes or illegal content" and confirmed this included explicit AI images generated with AI.
It said networks such as X were mandated to take "suitable measures" to "minimize the danger" of users viewing unlawful content on their platforms and to remove it swiftly when they become aware of it.
