The online platform X has provoked widespread backlash after people utilized its AI chatbot Grok to manipulate images of women by removing their garments.
Multiple cases have emerged where the system has been used to remove clothing from women to make them appear in bikinis non-consensually, as well as to insert them in inappropriate situations.
Developer Reaction and Legal Position
XAI, the company responsible for Grok, offered no comment to requests for comment, other than an auto-reply message stating "legacy media lies".
A government spokesperson stated that new laws is being proposed to prohibit nudification software. Under a new law, anyone who provided such tools would "receive a prison sentence and substantial penalties".
"The platform is capable of halting these forms of abuse if they wanted to," said a law professor, adding they "operate with a lack of consequences."
Oversight Body Position and Platform Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said technology companies must "consider the danger" of people accessing unlawful material on their services, but did not specify whether it was at this time examining X or Grok in regarding artificial intelligence pictures.
Grok is a free AI assistant—with some premium features—which reacts to X users' prompts when they tag it in a tweet.
It is frequently used to provide commentary or more background to other posters' comments, but people on X are also able to edit an posted photo through its AI image editing function.
Background of Criticism and Policy
The chatbot has been condemned for enabling users to produce photos and clips with nudity and sexualised material, and it was in the past accused of creating inappropriate material of celebrities.
"X has been enabling the production and spread of these pictures for months without taking any steps and we have yet to see any challenge by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy prohibits "portraying likenesses of people in a graphic manner".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "generate or distribute deepfakes or illegal content" and confirmed this included explicit AI images created with AI.
It said platforms such as X were mandated to take "appropriate measures" to "minimize the risk" of users viewing unlawful content on their platforms and to take down it swiftly when they learn of it.
