The online network X has provoked significant backlash after people employed its AI chatbot Grok to change pictures of females by taking off their garments.
Multiple examples have been seen where the tool has been used to virtually strip women to make them appear in swimwear without permission, as well as to insert them in sexually explicit contexts.
Developer Reaction and Regulatory Stance
XAI, the company behind Grok, offered no comment to requests for comment, except for an standard message stating "legacy media lies".
A government official stated that legislation is being proposed to prohibit image stripping technology. Under a new criminal offence, anyone who supplied such technology would "be subject to a jail term and significant penalties".
"The platform is capable of halting these types of misuse if they chose to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "operate with impunity."
Oversight Body Stance and Tool Capabilities
The communications watchdog Ofcom said tech firms must "consider the danger" of people viewing illegal content on their platforms, but did not confirm whether it was at this time examining X or Grok in regarding AI-generated images.
Grok is a no-cost chatbot—with some premium features—which answers X users' requests when they reference it in a message.
It is often used to provide reactions or further context to other users' comments, but people on X are also capable of modify an uploaded photo through its AI image editing tool.
History of Controversy and Rules
The tool has been condemned for enabling users to generate photos and footage with explicit content and sexualised content, and it was in the past alleged to have been involved in creating sexually explicit content of public figures.
"The platform has been enabling the generation and distribution of these images for a long time without taking any action and we have yet to see any challenge by oversight bodies," the expert added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy prohibits "showing images of individuals in a graphic way".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was against the law to "generate or share deepfakes or illegal content" and stated this included explicit AI images generated with AI.
It said platforms such as X were obligated to take "appropriate measures" to "minimize the risk" of users viewing illegal material on their services and to remove it promptly when they become aware of it.
