The online network X has sparked significant outrage after users used its AI chatbot Grok to manipulate photos of women by removing their clothing.
Numerous cases have emerged where the system has been employed to remove clothing from women to render them in bikinis non-consensually, as well as to place them in sexualized situations.
Developer Reaction and Legal Position
XAI, the organization responsible for Grok, did not respond to inquiries, other than an standard response stating "legacy media lies".
A government spokesperson stated that legislation is being brought forward to prohibit nudification software. Under a new criminal offence, anyone who provided such technology would "be subject to a jail term and substantial penalties".
"X or Grok has the ability to stop these forms of abuse if they chose to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "appear to enjoy impunity."
Oversight Body Position and Tool Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said platforms must "consider the danger" of people accessing unlawful material on their networks, but stopped short of confirming whether it was presently investigating X or Grok in concerning AI-generated images.
Grok is a free artificial intelligence—with some premium functions—which answers X users' requests when they reference it in a message.
It is commonly used to give commentary or more background to other posters' comments, but people on X are also capable of modify an posted image through its artificial intelligence picture modification tool.
History of Criticism and Rules
The chatbot has been criticised for enabling users to produce photos and videos with explicit content and sexually suggestive material, and it was earlier accused of generating graphic content of celebrities.
"X has been enabling the production and distribution of these images for months without taking any steps and we have yet to see any challenge by oversight bodies," the expert added.
XAI's own usage rules forbids "depicting likenesses of persons in a graphic way".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was illegal to "make or distribute private pictures or child sexual abuse material" and stated this covered explicit AI images generated with AI.
It said networks such as X were obligated to take "necessary actions" to "minimize the danger" of users viewing unlawful material on their platforms and to take down it swiftly when they are notified of it.
