The online network X has caused major outrage after individuals utilized its AI chatbot Grok to manipulate photos of females by removing their attire.
Multiple cases have surfaced where the technology has been employed to remove clothing from women to show them in bikinis without consent, as well as to insert them in sexually explicit contexts.
Developer Reaction and Regulatory Position
XAI, the firm responsible for Grok, offered no comment to requests for comment, except for an auto-reply response stating "legacy media lies".
A government official stated that new laws is being brought forward to prohibit image stripping software. Under a upcoming criminal offence, anyone who distributed such tools would "receive a jail term and heavy fines".
"X or Grok is capable of halting these types of misuse if they desired to," said a law professor, adding they "operate with impunity."
Regulator Stance and Tool Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said technology companies must "evaluate the risk" of people accessing unlawful material on their services, but stopped short of confirming whether it was at this time investigating X or Grok in regarding AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a free artificial intelligence—with some premium functions—which responds to X users' prompts when they tag it in a post.
It is often used to provide reactions or further context to other posters' comments, but people on X are also capable of edit an uploaded image through its AI image editing tool.
Background of Criticism and Policy
The tool has been criticised for permitting users to generate images and clips with nudity and sexually suggestive material, and it was earlier alleged to have been involved in creating sexually explicit content of celebrities.
"The platform has been allowing the production and distribution of these pictures for months without taking any action and we have yet to see any challenge by oversight bodies," the expert added.
XAI's own usage rules forbids "showing images of people in a pornographic manner".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "make or distribute private pictures or illegal content" and clarified this applied to sexual deepfakes generated with AI.
It said platforms such as X were mandated to take "necessary steps" to "reduce the danger" of users coming across illegal content on their services and to remove it swiftly when they become aware of it.
