The social media platform X has caused significant outrage after people utilized its AI chatbot Grok to alter pictures of females by stripping their garments.
Multiple cases have emerged where the tool has been employed to virtually strip women to show them in swimwear without permission, as well as to insert them in sexually explicit scenarios.
Company Reaction and Regulatory Position
XAI, the organization responsible for Grok, did not respond to questions, aside from an auto-reply message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A government official stated that new laws is being proposed to ban image stripping software. Under a new criminal offence, anyone who provided such technology would "face a prison sentence and significant fines".
"X or Grok is capable of halting these types of abuse if they desired to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "seem to have impunity."
Regulator Position and Platform Capabilities
The communications watchdog Ofcom said tech firms must "consider the risk" of people accessing illegal content on their networks, but did not confirm whether it was presently examining X or Grok in relation to AI-generated images.
Grok is a no-cost chatbot—with some premium features—which answers X users' queries when they reference it in a post.
It is often used to provide commentary or additional context to other users' comments, but people on X are also capable of edit an uploaded image through its artificial intelligence picture modification tool.
History of Criticism and Rules
The system has been criticised for permitting users to produce images and videos with nudity and sexualised material, and it was previously alleged to have been involved in creating graphic content of public figures.
"The platform has been enabling the production and distribution of these images for months without taking any measures and we have not seen any intervention by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy prohibits "showing likenesses of persons in a sexually explicit way".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was illegal to "make or circulate private pictures or child sexual abuse material" and stated this applied to sexual deepfakes made with AI.
It said platforms such as X were obligated to take "suitable actions" to "reduce the danger" of users coming across illegal content on their platforms and to remove it promptly when they become aware of it.
