The online network X has caused major outrage after people used its AI chatbot Grok to manipulate photos of females by removing their garments.
Several examples have been seen where the tool has been used to virtually strip female subjects to show them in bikinis without permission, as well as to place them in inappropriate scenarios.
Company Reaction and Regulatory Position
XAI, the company responsible for Grok, offered no comment to questions, except for an standard message stating "legacy media lies".
A government representative stated that new laws is being introduced to ban image stripping software. Under a proposed criminal offence, anyone who distributed such tools would "receive a prison sentence and heavy penalties".
"The platform could prevent these forms of misuse if they wanted to," said a law professor, adding they "appear to enjoy a lack of consequences."
Regulator Stance and Platform Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said platforms must "consider the danger" of people accessing illegal content on their services, but stopped short of confirming whether it was at this time looking into X or Grok in concerning AI-generated images.
Grok is a free chatbot—with some paid-for features—which responds to X users' queries when they mention it in a message.
It is commonly used to offer reactions or additional background to other users' comments, but people on X are also capable of edit an uploaded picture through its artificial intelligence picture modification feature.
Background of Criticism and Policy
The chatbot has been faulted for enabling users to produce photos and clips with nudity and sexualised content, and it was previously alleged to have been involved in creating inappropriate material of public figures.
"The platform has been allowing the creation and spread of these pictures for months without taking any measures and we have yet to see any challenge by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy prohibits "depicting images of individuals in a pornographic manner".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was illegal to "generate or circulate deepfakes or illegal content" and clarified this applied to explicit AI images created with AI.
It said networks such as X were obligated to take "appropriate steps" to "lessen the danger" of users encountering illegal content on their services and to remove it promptly when they learn of it.
