The social media network X has sparked significant backlash after users utilized its AI chatbot Grok to manipulate images of females by removing their garments.
Several examples have surfaced where the tool has been used to virtually strip women to render them in swimwear non-consensually, as well as to put them in sexualized situations.
Developer Reaction and Regulatory Stance
XAI, the company behind Grok, did not respond to requests for comment, other than an standard response stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A government representative stated that legislation is being brought forward to outlaw nudification technology. Under a proposed law, anyone who supplied such technology would "be subject to a prison sentence and significant penalties".
"The platform could prevent these types of abuse if they wanted to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "appear to enjoy impunity."
Regulator Stance and Tool Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "assess the risk" of people accessing unlawful material on their platforms, but did not specify whether it was presently investigating X or Grok in regarding AI-generated images.
Grok is a free AI assistant—with some additional functions—which reacts to X users' requests when they tag it in a tweet.
It is often used to give reactions or more context to other users' remarks, but people on X are also able to modify an posted picture through its AI image editing function.
History of Controversy and Policy
The chatbot has been faulted for permitting users to produce pictures and footage with explicit content and sexualised content, and it was previously alleged to have been involved in creating inappropriate content of public figures.
"The platform has been enabling the creation and distribution of these images for months without taking any measures and we have yet to see any action by oversight bodies," the expert added.
XAI's own usage rules bans "depicting images of individuals in a sexually explicit manner".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "make or circulate private pictures or illegal content" and confirmed this included explicit AI images made with AI.
It said platforms such as X were mandated to take "appropriate measures" to "reduce the danger" of users coming across unlawful content on their platforms and to remove it swiftly when they are notified of it.
