Elon Musk's social media network X has caused major backlash after individuals used its AI chatbot Grok to manipulate pictures of women by removing their attire.
Several instances have emerged where the technology has been employed to virtually strip female subjects to render them in swimwear without consent, as well as to put them in sexually explicit situations.
Developer Reaction and Legal Position
XAI, the firm that created Grok, remained silent to requests for comment, aside from an auto-reply message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A Home Office spokesperson stated that new laws is being brought forward to outlaw image stripping tools. Under a proposed criminal offence, anyone who provided such tools would "face a prison sentence and substantial penalties".
"The platform could prevent these forms of abuse if they chose to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "operate with impunity."
Oversight Body Stance and Platform Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said technology companies must "assess the danger" of people accessing unlawful material on their services, but did not confirm whether it was currently examining X or Grok in regarding AI-generated images.
Grok is a free chatbot—with some additional functions—which responds to X users' queries when they mention it in a message.
It is frequently used to offer reactions or more context to other users' comments, but people on X are also can edit an posted image through its AI image editing feature.
Background of Criticism and Policy
The chatbot has been criticised for enabling users to create photos and videos with nudity and sexually suggestive content, and it was previously accused of making inappropriate material of celebrities.
"The platform has been allowing the production and distribution of these images for a long time without taking any steps and we have not seen any intervention by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own usage rules prohibits "showing images of people in a graphic manner".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was against the law to "generate or distribute private pictures or child sexual abuse material" and confirmed this included sexual deepfakes generated with AI.
It said networks such as X were required to take "appropriate steps" to "reduce the danger" of users encountering unlawful material on their services and to remove it swiftly when they learn of it.
