The online network X has sparked widespread anger after people utilized its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to manipulate photos of women by taking off their attire.
Several examples have emerged where the technology has been employed to virtually strip female subjects to render them in bikinis without consent, as well as to put them in inappropriate scenarios.
Developer Response and Regulatory Stance
XAI, the organization responsible for Grok, did not respond to questions, except for an standard message stating "legacy media lies".
A government spokesperson stated that new laws is being introduced to outlaw nudification software. Under a proposed criminal offence, anyone who provided such tools would "be subject to a jail term and heavy fines".
"X or Grok has the ability to stop these types of misuse if they wanted to," said a law professor, adding they "appear to enjoy a lack of consequences."
Regulator Position and Platform Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "evaluate the risk" of people viewing illegal content on their networks, but did not specify whether it was currently examining X or Grok in relation to AI-generated images.
Grok is a free chatbot—with some premium functions—which responds to X users' requests when they tag it in a post.
It is commonly used to give reactions or more context to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also able to modify an posted image through its AI image editing function.
Background of Controversy and Rules
The tool has been condemned for allowing users to create images and videos with nudity and sexually suggestive material, and it was in the past accused of creating graphic content of celebrities.
"X has been permitting the creation and sharing of these pictures for a long time without taking any action and we have not witnessed any action by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy prohibits "depicting likenesses of persons in a pornographic manner".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was against the law to "make or share private pictures or illegal content" and stated this applied to explicit AI images made with AI.
It said platforms such as X were required to take "appropriate measures" to "reduce the danger" of users viewing unlawful material on their services and to remove it promptly when they learn of it.
