The online network X has sparked significant outrage after individuals utilized its AI chatbot Grok to alter photos of females by removing their garments.
Numerous instances have been seen where the tool has been employed to virtually strip women to render them in bikinis without permission, as well as to put them in sexualized scenarios.
Company Reaction and Legal Stance
XAI, the company that created Grok, offered no comment to inquiries, aside from an auto-reply message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A government representative stated that new laws is being proposed to prohibit image stripping tools. Under a new criminal offence, anyone who provided such technology would "be subject to a prison sentence and heavy penalties".
"The platform could prevent these types of abuse if they chose to," said a law professor, adding they "operate with impunity."
Oversight Body Position and Tool Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said platforms must "consider the danger" of people seeing unlawful material on their platforms, but did not confirm whether it was currently investigating X or Grok in relation to AI-generated images.
Grok is a free chatbot—with some additional functions—which responds to X users' prompts when they tag it in a post.
It is frequently used to provide reactions or additional background to other users' remarks, but people on X are also can edit an uploaded photo through its artificial intelligence picture modification function.
History of Criticism and Policy
The system has been faulted for allowing users to create pictures and clips with nudity and sexually suggestive content, and it was in the past alleged to have been involved in creating graphic material of celebrities.
"The platform has been permitting the generation and spread of these pictures for months without taking any steps and we have not seen any intervention by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own usage rules forbids "depicting likenesses of people in a sexually explicit fashion".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was against the law to "generate or distribute non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and confirmed this included sexual deepfakes created with AI.
It said networks such as X were obligated to take "suitable actions" to "lessen the danger" of users coming across illegal material on their platforms and to take down it swiftly when they learn of it.
