The online network X has caused widespread outrage after users used its AI chatbot Grok to alter photos of women by taking off their clothing.
Several instances have been seen where the tool has been employed to virtually strip female subjects to render them in bikinis without consent, as well as to insert them in sexualized situations.
Company Response and Legal Stance
XAI, the company responsible for Grok, did not respond to inquiries, other than an standard response stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A Home Office spokesperson stated that legislation is being proposed to prohibit nudification technology. Under a proposed criminal offence, anyone who distributed such technology would "be subject to a prison sentence and significant penalties".
"The platform has the ability to stop these types of misuse if they chose to," said a law professor, adding they "operate with a lack of consequences."
Oversight Body Position and Platform Capabilities
The communications watchdog Ofcom said tech firms must "consider the risk" of people seeing illegal content on their networks, but did not specify whether it was presently examining X or Grok in relation to artificial intelligence images.
Grok is a no-cost artificial intelligence—with some paid-for functions—which reacts to X users' requests when they mention it in a tweet.
It is frequently used to provide reactions or more context to other posters' comments, but people on X are also can edit an posted image through its artificial intelligence picture modification tool.
Background of Criticism and Rules
The chatbot has been faulted for allowing users to generate photos and clips with nudity and sexually suggestive material, and it was earlier accused of generating sexually explicit content of celebrities.
"The platform has been enabling the generation and distribution of these images for months without taking any action and we have yet to see any intervention by oversight bodies," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own usage rules prohibits "showing likenesses of individuals in a sexually explicit way".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "generate or share private pictures or illegal content" and clarified this included explicit AI images generated with AI.
It said platforms such as X were required to take "appropriate measures" to "minimize the risk" of users encountering unlawful material on their platforms and to remove it swiftly when they become aware of it.
