The online platform X has caused significant backlash after individuals utilized its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to manipulate photos of women by removing their attire.
Numerous examples have been seen where the technology has been employed to digitally undress female subjects to show them in swimwear without consent, as well as to put them in sexually explicit scenarios.
Company Response and Legal Position
XAI, the company responsible for Grok, remained silent to requests for comment, except for an standard response stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A Home Office spokesperson stated that new laws is being brought forward to outlaw image stripping technology. Under a proposed criminal offence, anyone who distributed such tools would "face a prison sentence and heavy fines".
"X or Grok has the ability to stop these forms of abuse if they wanted to," said a law professor, adding they "seem to have a lack of consequences."
Oversight Body Position and Tool Capabilities
The communications watchdog Ofcom said tech firms must "consider the risk" of people accessing unlawful material on their services, but did not confirm whether it was currently examining X or Grok in relation to AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a free chatbot—with some premium functions—which answers X users' requests when they mention it in a tweet.
It is often used to give reactions or more context to other users' comments, but people on X are also capable of alter an posted picture through its artificial intelligence picture modification function.
History of Controversy and Rules
The chatbot has been faulted for enabling users to create photos and videos with nudity and sexualised material, and it was in the past alleged to have been involved in making graphic material of celebrities.
"X has been allowing the production and spread of these pictures for a long time without taking any action and we have not witnessed any intervention by oversight bodies," the expert added.
XAI's own terms of service forbids "depicting likenesses of persons in a sexually explicit fashion".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "generate or distribute non-consensual intimate images or child sexual abuse material" and stated this applied to explicit AI images made with AI.
It said platforms such as X were required to take "necessary actions" to "lessen the danger" of users encountering unlawful material on their platforms and to delete it quickly when they become aware of it.
