The online network X has sparked widespread outrage after users utilized its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to change pictures of women by stripping their clothing.
Numerous instances have surfaced where the technology has been used to virtually strip women to render them in swimwear without permission, as well as to insert them in sexualized situations.
Company Response and Regulatory Position
XAI, the firm behind Grok, did not respond to inquiries, except for an auto-reply response stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A Home Office official stated that legislation is being brought forward to prohibit image stripping tools. Under a proposed law, anyone who distributed such technology would "be subject to a prison sentence and heavy fines".
"X or Grok has the ability to stop these forms of abuse if they desired to," said a law professor, adding they "seem to have impunity."
Regulator Stance and Platform Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said technology companies must "assess the potential" of people viewing unlawful material on their networks, but stopped short of confirming whether it was presently looking into X or Grok in concerning AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a free artificial intelligence—with some paid-for functions—which reacts to X users' prompts when they reference it in a tweet.
It is often used to give commentary or further background to other users' remarks, but people on X are also capable of alter an uploaded photo through its AI image editing function.
Background of Controversy and Rules
The tool has been criticised for allowing users to create pictures and clips with nudity and sexualised material, and it was earlier accused of generating graphic content of celebrities.
"X has been enabling the production and spread of these pictures for months without taking any measures and we have not witnessed any challenge by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy bans "depicting likenesses of people in a graphic fashion".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was illegal to "create or distribute private pictures or child sexual abuse material" and clarified this included explicit AI images created with AI.
It said services such as X were required to take "appropriate measures" to "minimize the risk" of users coming across unlawful content on their services and to remove it quickly when they learn of it.
