Elon Musk's online network X has caused widespread outrage after people used its AI chatbot Grok to alter photos of females by taking off their clothing.
Numerous examples have been seen where the system has been employed to virtually strip female subjects to render them in swimwear without consent, as well as to place them in sexualized scenarios.
Developer Reaction and Legal Position
XAI, the organization behind Grok, offered no comment to questions, other than an standard message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A Home Office official stated that new laws is being brought forward to outlaw image stripping software. Under a new law, anyone who supplied such tools would "be subject to a prison sentence and significant fines".
"X or Grok could prevent these types of abuse if they chose to," said a law professor, adding they "operate with a lack of consequences."
Regulator Position and Platform Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "evaluate the potential" of people viewing unlawful material on their services, but did not confirm whether it was at this time investigating X or Grok in relation to artificial intelligence images.
Grok is a free chatbot—with some premium features—which responds to X users' queries when they tag it in a message.
It is often used to offer reactions or more context to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also capable of edit an posted photo through its artificial intelligence picture modification tool.
Background of Criticism and Rules
The tool has been faulted for permitting users to generate images and videos with nudity and sexualised material, and it was earlier accused of generating graphic material of public figures.
"X has been permitting the generation and sharing of these images for months without taking any action and we have not witnessed any action by oversight bodies," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy prohibits "depicting images of individuals in a graphic fashion".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was against the law to "generate or share private pictures or child sexual abuse material" and stated this included sexual deepfakes created with AI.
It said networks such as X were mandated to take "necessary steps" to "minimize the danger" of users coming across unlawful content on their platforms and to remove it swiftly when they become aware of it.
