The online network X has sparked significant anger after people used its AI chatbot Grok to manipulate images of women by stripping their clothing.
Numerous examples have emerged where the system has been used to virtually strip female subjects to make them appear in bikinis without permission, as well as to insert them in sexually explicit contexts.
Company Response and Regulatory Position
XAI, the organization that created Grok, remained silent to questions, other than an standard message stating "legacy media lies".
A government representative stated that legislation is being introduced to prohibit image stripping technology. Under a new criminal offence, anyone who distributed such technology would "be subject to a prison sentence and substantial penalties".
"X or Grok is capable of halting these forms of misuse if they wanted to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "seem to have a lack of consequences."
Oversight Body Stance and Tool Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said platforms must "consider the risk" of people seeing illegal content on their platforms, but stopped short of confirming whether it was currently examining X or Grok in concerning AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a no-cost artificial intelligence—with some paid-for functions—which answers X users' prompts when they mention it in a post.
It is often used to give commentary or further context to other posters' comments, but people on X are also can alter an uploaded image through its artificial intelligence picture modification function.
History of Criticism and Policy
The tool has been faulted for allowing users to create photos and clips with nudity and sexually suggestive material, and it was earlier alleged to have been involved in creating graphic content of public figures.
"X has been permitting the production and distribution of these images for months without taking any measures and we have yet to see any action by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy prohibits "showing likenesses of persons in a graphic manner".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was illegal to "generate or circulate deepfakes or illegal content" and clarified this applied to explicit AI images generated with AI.
It said networks such as X were obligated to take "appropriate steps" to "minimize the risk" of users coming across unlawful content on their services and to take down it quickly when they are notified of it.
