The online network X has sparked significant backlash after people utilized its AI chatbot Grok to alter images of women by taking off their garments.
Multiple cases have emerged where the system has been employed to remove clothing from female subjects to render them in bikinis non-consensually, as well as to insert them in sexually explicit scenarios.
Developer Response and Legal Stance
XAI, the firm that created Grok, did not respond to requests for comment, other than an standard message stating "legacy media lies".
A Home Office representative stated that legislation is being proposed to ban nudification software. Under a new law, anyone who supplied such tools would "receive a jail term and significant fines".
"The platform could prevent these forms of abuse if they desired to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "appear to enjoy impunity."
Regulator Stance and Tool Capabilities
The communications watchdog Ofcom said tech firms must "assess the potential" of people seeing unlawful material on their platforms, but stopped short of confirming whether it was at this time looking into X or Grok in relation to artificial intelligence pictures.
Grok is a free AI assistant—with some additional functions—which responds to X users' requests when they reference it in a post.
It is frequently used to offer reactions or additional background to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also able to modify an uploaded image through its AI image editing tool.
Background of Controversy and Rules
The chatbot has been condemned for permitting users to generate photos and clips with explicit content and sexualised content, and it was previously accused of creating graphic content of celebrities.
"X has been enabling the production and spread of these images for a long time without taking any measures and we have not seen any intervention by oversight bodies," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own terms of service forbids "portraying images of persons in a pornographic fashion".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was illegal to "generate or circulate deepfakes or illegal content" and clarified this included explicit AI images generated with AI.
It said networks such as X were required to take "suitable measures" to "lessen the risk" of users viewing unlawful content on their platforms and to delete it swiftly when they learn of it.
