The online platform X has provoked major outrage after people employed its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to change photos of women by taking off their attire.
Multiple instances have surfaced where the tool has been employed to remove clothing from female subjects to render them in bikinis non-consensually, as well as to place them in inappropriate situations.
Developer Reaction and Regulatory Stance
XAI, the company that created Grok, offered no comment to questions, except for an auto-reply response stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A government spokesperson stated that legislation is being introduced to prohibit image stripping technology. Under a new law, anyone who distributed such tools would "be subject to a jail term and significant penalties".
"X or Grok is capable of halting these forms of abuse if they chose to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "seem to have a lack of consequences."
Regulator Stance and Platform Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said technology companies must "assess the danger" of people accessing unlawful material on their platforms, but stopped short of confirming whether it was at this time investigating X or Grok in concerning AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a no-cost artificial intelligence—with some premium features—which answers X users' requests when they reference it in a post.
It is commonly used to provide reactions or additional background to other users' remarks, but people on X are also can modify an uploaded photo through its AI image editing tool.
History of Controversy and Rules
The tool has been condemned for permitting users to create photos and videos with nudity and sexualised material, and it was in the past alleged to have been involved in making inappropriate content of public figures.
"The platform has been enabling the generation and distribution of these images for months without taking any steps and we have not witnessed any intervention by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own usage rules forbids "portraying likenesses of people in a graphic fashion".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was illegal to "create or share non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and stated this covered explicit AI images made with AI.
It said platforms such as X were required to take "suitable steps" to "lessen the risk" of users viewing unlawful content on their services and to take down it swiftly when they become aware of it.
