The social media network X has caused significant outrage after people utilized its AI chatbot Grok to alter photos of women by removing their attire.
Multiple cases have surfaced where the system has been employed to virtually strip female subjects to show them in swimwear without consent, as well as to insert them in sexually explicit situations.
Developer Response and Legal Position
XAI, the company behind Grok, did not respond to inquiries, aside from an auto-reply message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A government spokesperson stated that new laws is being proposed to ban nudification tools. Under a upcoming criminal offence, anyone who supplied such tools would "be subject to a jail term and significant fines".
"The platform is capable of halting these types of abuse if they desired to," said a law professor, adding they "operate with impunity."
Regulator Position and Platform Capabilities
The communications watchdog Ofcom said platforms must "consider the potential" of people viewing illegal content on their platforms, but did not confirm whether it was currently investigating X or Grok in concerning AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a no-cost AI assistant—with some paid-for functions—which reacts to X users' queries when they reference it in a post.
It is frequently used to give commentary or further background to other users' remarks, but people on X are also capable of edit an uploaded picture through its artificial intelligence picture modification feature.
History of Criticism and Rules
The tool has been faulted for allowing users to produce photos and footage with explicit content and sexually suggestive material, and it was earlier alleged to have been involved in generating graphic material of public figures.
"The platform has been allowing the production and distribution of these images for months without taking any action and we have not seen any challenge by oversight bodies," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own terms of service prohibits "showing likenesses of people in a pornographic manner".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was illegal to "generate or circulate non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and confirmed this applied to explicit AI images created with AI.
It said networks such as X were mandated to take "appropriate actions" to "minimize the risk" of users coming across unlawful material on their platforms and to take down it promptly when they are notified of it.
