The online platform X has sparked major outrage after users used its AI chatbot Grok to manipulate images of females by removing their attire.
Numerous cases have emerged where the technology has been used to digitally undress female subjects to show them in bikinis non-consensually, as well as to insert them in inappropriate contexts.
Company Response and Legal Stance
XAI, the firm responsible for Grok, did not respond to requests for comment, aside from an auto-reply response stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A government representative stated that legislation is being brought forward to outlaw image stripping software. Under a new law, anyone who provided such tools would "receive a prison sentence and substantial fines".
"The platform is capable of halting these types of abuse if they desired to," said a law professor, adding they "appear to enjoy a lack of consequences."
Regulator Position and Platform Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said platforms must "consider the potential" of people viewing unlawful material on their networks, but did not specify whether it was presently investigating X or Grok in regarding artificial intelligence images.
Grok is a no-cost artificial intelligence—with some premium features—which answers X users' prompts when they tag it in a tweet.
It is frequently used to provide commentary or additional context to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also capable of alter an posted picture through its artificial intelligence picture modification tool.
Background of Controversy and Policy
The tool has been criticised for permitting users to generate pictures and videos with explicit content and sexualised content, and it was in the past alleged to have been involved in making graphic material of public figures.
"X has been enabling the production and distribution of these images for months without taking any action and we have not witnessed any intervention by oversight bodies," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own terms of service bans "depicting likenesses of persons in a graphic manner".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was against the law to "make or circulate private pictures or illegal content" and clarified this applied to explicit AI images created with AI.
It said networks such as X were required to take "necessary actions" to "reduce the danger" of users coming across unlawful content on their services and to delete it swiftly when they become aware of it.
