The online network X has sparked widespread anger after people utilized its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to manipulate pictures of women by removing their clothing.
Multiple cases have surfaced where the tool has been used to digitally undress women to make them appear in swimwear non-consensually, as well as to put them in sexualized situations.
Developer Response and Legal Position
XAI, the company responsible for Grok, offered no comment to requests for comment, except for an auto-reply message stating "legacy media lies".
A Home Office spokesperson stated that legislation is being proposed to prohibit image stripping tools. Under a new criminal offence, anyone who supplied such tools would "face a prison sentence and substantial fines".
"The platform could prevent these types of misuse if they chose to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "seem to have impunity."
Oversight Body Stance and Platform Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said platforms must "evaluate the risk" of people viewing illegal content on their platforms, but did not confirm whether it was at this time investigating X or Grok in relation to artificial intelligence pictures.
Grok is a free AI assistant—with some premium features—which reacts to X users' queries when they tag it in a post.
It is often used to offer reactions or more background to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also can modify an posted image through its AI image editing feature.
Background of Controversy and Rules
The tool has been condemned for permitting users to create images and videos with explicit content and sexually suggestive content, and it was in the past alleged to have been involved in making inappropriate content of celebrities.
"The platform has been enabling the production and spread of these images for months without taking any action and we have not seen any challenge by oversight bodies," the expert added.
XAI's own terms of service bans "showing likenesses of people in a sexually explicit fashion".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "create or circulate deepfakes or illegal content" and clarified this covered explicit AI images made with AI.
It said platforms such as X were required to take "suitable measures" to "minimize the risk" of users coming across illegal content on their platforms and to remove it quickly when they are notified of it.
