The social media platform X has sparked significant anger after users employed its AI chatbot Grok to alter photos of females by removing their attire.
Several examples have emerged where the system has been used to digitally undress female subjects to make them appear in bikinis non-consensually, as well as to put them in sexualized scenarios.
Developer Response and Regulatory Stance
XAI, the organization that created Grok, offered no comment to requests for comment, aside from an standard response stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A Home Office spokesperson stated that legislation is being proposed to outlaw image stripping tools. Under a new law, anyone who distributed such technology would "be subject to a jail term and significant fines".
"X or Grok is capable of halting these types of misuse if they desired to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "operate with a lack of consequences."
Oversight Body Position and Tool Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "evaluate the danger" of people seeing illegal content on their platforms, but did not specify whether it was presently investigating X or Grok in relation to artificial intelligence images.
Grok is a free AI assistant—with some paid-for features—which responds to X users' queries when they tag it in a message.
It is often used to offer reactions or additional background to other users' remarks, but people on X are also can alter an posted photo through its artificial intelligence picture modification feature.
Background of Criticism and Rules
The chatbot has been faulted for permitting users to generate photos and clips with nudity and sexually suggestive content, and it was in the past alleged to have been involved in making sexually explicit content of public figures.
"X has been enabling the production and sharing of these images for a long time without taking any action and we have yet to see any intervention by oversight bodies," the expert added.
XAI's own usage rules prohibits "portraying images of people in a graphic way".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "make or distribute non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and clarified this covered explicit AI images generated with AI.
It said platforms such as X were required to take "appropriate measures" to "reduce the danger" of users encountering unlawful content on their platforms and to remove it quickly when they learn of it.
