The social media network X has caused widespread anger after people utilized its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to change pictures of females by taking off their garments.
Multiple instances have been seen where the technology has been used to remove clothing from female subjects to render them in swimwear without consent, as well as to insert them in sexualized situations.
Company Response and Regulatory Position
XAI, the firm that created Grok, did not respond to inquiries, other than an auto-reply response stating "legacy media lies".
A government representative stated that new laws is being proposed to prohibit image stripping tools. Under a new criminal offence, anyone who distributed such technology would "be subject to a prison sentence and significant penalties".
"X or Grok is capable of halting these types of misuse if they wanted to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "operate with a lack of consequences."
Oversight Body Position and Tool Capabilities
The communications watchdog Ofcom said technology companies must "consider the risk" of people accessing unlawful material on their platforms, but did not confirm whether it was currently looking into X or Grok in concerning AI-generated images.
Grok is a free chatbot—with some additional functions—which reacts to X users' queries when they mention it in a message.
It is often used to offer commentary or more background to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also able to edit an posted picture through its artificial intelligence picture modification function.
History of Controversy and Policy
The system has been condemned for permitting users to create images and clips with nudity and sexually suggestive material, and it was earlier alleged to have been involved in creating sexually explicit content of celebrities.
"X has been enabling the production and sharing of these images for months without taking any action and we have yet to see any action by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own usage rules prohibits "depicting likenesses of people in a graphic manner".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "create or circulate private pictures or child sexual abuse material" and stated this included sexual deepfakes generated with AI.
It said services such as X were required to take "appropriate measures" to "reduce the danger" of users viewing illegal content on their platforms and to take down it swiftly when they become aware of it.
