The social media network X has provoked major backlash after individuals utilized its AI chatbot Grok to manipulate pictures of females by taking off their clothing.
Several examples have emerged where the technology has been used to virtually strip female subjects to render them in bikinis non-consensually, as well as to place them in sexualized situations.
Developer Response and Regulatory Stance
XAI, the company that created Grok, remained silent to questions, aside from an standard response stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A government spokesperson stated that new laws is being introduced to ban image stripping software. Under a upcoming law, anyone who distributed such technology would "receive a jail term and substantial fines".
"X or Grok is capable of halting these forms of misuse if they chose to," said a law professor, adding they "appear to enjoy impunity."
Oversight Body Position and Tool Capabilities
The communications watchdog Ofcom said platforms must "consider the danger" of people seeing unlawful material on their platforms, but did not specify whether it was presently looking into X or Grok in concerning artificial intelligence images.
Grok is a free chatbot—with some additional features—which answers X users' prompts when they mention it in a message.
It is frequently used to provide reactions or further background to other users' comments, but people on X are also capable of alter an uploaded photo through its artificial intelligence picture modification tool.
Background of Controversy and Rules
The chatbot has been criticised for allowing users to produce images and clips with nudity and sexually suggestive content, and it was earlier alleged to have been involved in generating inappropriate content of celebrities.
"The platform has been permitting the creation and spread of these pictures for a long time without taking any steps and we have not witnessed any intervention by oversight bodies," the expert added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy bans "portraying likenesses of people in a sexually explicit manner".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was illegal to "create or distribute private pictures or illegal content" and stated this included sexual deepfakes made with AI.
It said platforms such as X were mandated to take "appropriate steps" to "reduce the danger" of users coming across illegal content on their platforms and to remove it promptly when they learn of it.
