The social media network X has sparked significant outrage after individuals utilized its AI chatbot Grok to alter pictures of females by removing their attire.
Multiple examples have been seen where the tool has been employed to virtually strip female subjects to show them in bikinis non-consensually, as well as to put them in sexualized situations.
Company Reaction and Regulatory Stance
XAI, the organization responsible for Grok, did not respond to requests for comment, except for an standard response stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A Home Office representative stated that legislation is being introduced to prohibit nudification tools. Under a new law, anyone who provided such tools would "face a prison sentence and substantial penalties".
"X or Grok has the ability to stop these forms of misuse if they desired to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "seem to have a lack of consequences."
Regulator Stance and Platform Capabilities
The communications watchdog Ofcom said tech firms must "evaluate the danger" of people seeing illegal content on their networks, but stopped short of confirming whether it was at this time examining X or Grok in concerning AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a no-cost AI assistant—with some additional functions—which reacts to X users' queries when they mention it in a message.
It is often used to give reactions or further context to other posters' comments, but people on X are also can edit an uploaded picture through its artificial intelligence picture modification tool.
Background of Controversy and Policy
The system has been faulted for permitting users to generate images and clips with nudity and sexually suggestive material, and it was in the past accused of creating graphic material of celebrities.
"The platform has been enabling the creation and spread of these pictures for a long time without taking any steps and we have yet to see any challenge by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own terms of service forbids "depicting images of individuals in a sexually explicit manner".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "create or share private pictures or illegal content" and clarified this included sexual deepfakes made with AI.
It said networks such as X were obligated to take "appropriate actions" to "reduce the danger" of users viewing unlawful content on their services and to remove it swiftly when they are notified of it.
