The online network X has caused widespread anger after people used its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to change images of women by taking off their attire.
Multiple examples have been seen where the technology has been used to virtually strip female subjects to make them appear in bikinis without permission, as well as to place them in sexually explicit scenarios.
Developer Reaction and Regulatory Stance
XAI, the firm that created Grok, did not respond to requests for comment, other than an standard response stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A government spokesperson stated that legislation is being proposed to prohibit image stripping tools. Under a upcoming criminal offence, anyone who distributed such technology would "receive a prison sentence and heavy penalties".
"X or Grok is capable of halting these forms of misuse if they desired to," said a law professor, adding they "seem to have impunity."
Regulator Position and Tool Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said platforms must "evaluate the risk" of people seeing unlawful material on their networks, but did not specify whether it was currently investigating X or Grok in concerning AI-generated images.
Grok is a no-cost chatbot—with some additional features—which reacts to X users' prompts when they mention it in a message.
It is frequently used to offer reactions or additional background to other users' remarks, but people on X are also can alter an posted image through its artificial intelligence picture modification tool.
History of Criticism and Rules
The system has been condemned for permitting users to create pictures and videos with nudity and sexualised content, and it was previously accused of creating inappropriate content of celebrities.
"X has been enabling the generation and distribution of these images for a long time without taking any measures and we have not seen any intervention by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own usage rules bans "depicting images of individuals in a graphic fashion".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was against the law to "generate or distribute private pictures or illegal content" and stated this applied to sexual deepfakes generated with AI.
It said networks such as X were required to take "necessary measures" to "reduce the risk" of users coming across illegal content on their platforms and to remove it swiftly when they become aware of it.
