The social media platform X has sparked major outrage after users utilized its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to manipulate images of women by stripping their garments.
Numerous examples have been seen where the tool has been used to remove clothing from women to render them in swimwear non-consensually, as well as to put them in inappropriate contexts.
Company Response and Regulatory Stance
XAI, the organization that created Grok, did not respond to requests for comment, aside from an auto-reply response stating "legacy media lies".
A government spokesperson stated that legislation is being brought forward to prohibit image stripping technology. Under a proposed law, anyone who provided such technology would "be subject to a jail term and significant fines".
"X or Grok is capable of halting these forms of misuse if they wanted to," said a law professor, adding they "seem to have impunity."
Oversight Body Stance and Tool Functionality
The communications watchdog Ofcom said technology companies must "assess the potential" of people accessing unlawful material on their services, but did not specify whether it was currently examining X or Grok in regarding artificial intelligence images.
Grok is a free chatbot—with some additional functions—which answers X users' queries when they reference it in a tweet.
It is commonly used to offer reactions or additional background to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also able to alter an posted image through its artificial intelligence picture modification function.
Background of Controversy and Rules
The system has been criticised for permitting users to generate photos and clips with explicit content and sexualised content, and it was in the past accused of generating sexually explicit content of public figures.
"The platform has been enabling the generation and spread of these images for a long time without taking any steps and we have not witnessed any challenge by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own usage rules bans "showing likenesses of individuals in a sexually explicit fashion".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "make or circulate deepfakes or child sexual abuse material" and clarified this applied to explicit AI images made with AI.
It said networks such as X were required to take "necessary measures" to "minimize the danger" of users viewing illegal material on their platforms and to take down it promptly when they learn of it.
