The online network X has caused significant outrage after people used its AI chatbot Grok to change pictures of females by stripping their clothing.
Several cases have been seen where the system has been used to digitally undress women to render them in swimwear non-consensually, as well as to put them in sexualized situations.
Company Reaction and Legal Stance
XAI, the firm behind Grok, did not respond to requests for comment, other than an automatically-generated response stating "legacy media lies".
A Home Office official stated that legislation is being brought forward to outlaw image stripping software. Under a proposed law, anyone who distributed such technology would "face a prison sentence and heavy fines".
"The platform is capable of halting these forms of misuse if they chose to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "seem to have impunity."
Regulator Position and Tool Functionality
The communications watchdog Ofcom said tech firms must "assess the risk" of people seeing unlawful material on their networks, but did not confirm whether it was presently examining X or Grok in concerning AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a free artificial intelligence—with some paid-for features—which responds to X users' requests when they mention it in a post.
It is commonly used to provide reactions or further context to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also capable of modify an uploaded photo through its AI image editing function.
History of Criticism and Rules
The chatbot has been criticised for allowing users to create pictures and clips with nudity and sexually suggestive material, and it was previously accused of making sexually explicit content of public figures.
"X has been permitting the generation and distribution of these pictures for months without taking any measures and we have not seen any challenge by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy forbids "portraying likenesses of individuals in a pornographic manner".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was against the law to "make or share non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and confirmed this included sexual deepfakes made with AI.
It said platforms such as X were mandated to take "suitable measures" to "minimize the danger" of users coming across unlawful content on their services and to take down it promptly when they become aware of it.
