The online network X has caused major outrage after individuals utilized its AI chatbot Grok to manipulate photos of females by removing their clothing.
Numerous examples have been seen where the system has been employed to remove clothing from female subjects to show them in bikinis without permission, as well as to put them in sexualized situations.
Developer Reaction and Legal Position
XAI, the organization behind Grok, did not respond to questions, other than an standard response stating "legacy media lies".
A Home Office spokesperson stated that new laws is being introduced to outlaw image stripping technology. Under a new law, anyone who distributed such technology would "be subject to a jail term and significant fines".
"The platform has the ability to stop these types of misuse if they chose to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "appear to enjoy impunity."
Oversight Body Stance and Platform Capabilities
The communications watchdog Ofcom said platforms must "assess the danger" of people viewing illegal content on their services, but stopped short of confirming whether it was currently investigating X or Grok in concerning artificial intelligence images.
Grok is a free chatbot—with some paid-for features—which reacts to X users' prompts when they tag it in a post.
It is frequently used to provide reactions or additional background to other users' comments, but people on X are also can edit an posted picture through its artificial intelligence picture modification tool.
Background of Controversy and Rules
The system has been condemned for enabling users to create photos and videos with explicit content and sexualised content, and it was in the past accused of creating graphic content of public figures.
"The platform has been allowing the generation and spread of these pictures for months without taking any measures and we have not seen any intervention by oversight bodies," the expert added.
XAI's own terms of service prohibits "portraying likenesses of individuals in a sexually explicit fashion".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "generate or distribute deepfakes or illegal content" and clarified this covered explicit AI images created with AI.
It said services such as X were obligated to take "appropriate measures" to "minimize the danger" of users encountering unlawful content on their platforms and to remove it quickly when they are notified of it.
