Elon Musk's online network X has caused major backlash after individuals utilized its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to alter images of women by removing their attire.
Several instances have been seen where the system has been employed to virtually strip female subjects to render them in bikinis non-consensually, as well as to insert them in sexually explicit scenarios.
Developer Reaction and Legal Stance
XAI, the company behind Grok, did not respond to inquiries, except for an auto-reply message stating "legacy media lies".
A government official stated that new laws is being brought forward to ban image stripping tools. Under a new criminal offence, anyone who supplied such tools would "be subject to a prison sentence and heavy penalties".
"X or Grok has the ability to stop these types of misuse if they wanted to," said a law professor, adding they "appear to enjoy a lack of consequences."
Regulator Position and Tool Functionality
The communications watchdog Ofcom said platforms must "assess the potential" of people viewing illegal content on their networks, but did not specify whether it was currently examining X or Grok in concerning AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a free chatbot—with some additional functions—which reacts to X users' queries when they reference it in a post.
It is frequently used to provide reactions or further background to other posters' comments, but people on X are also capable of modify an uploaded photo through its AI image editing function.
History of Criticism and Policy
The system has been condemned for enabling users to produce images and clips with explicit content and sexualised content, and it was earlier alleged to have been involved in generating graphic content of celebrities.
"The platform has been enabling the production and sharing of these pictures for a long time without taking any steps and we have yet to see any action by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own terms of service forbids "portraying images of individuals in a graphic way".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was illegal to "generate or circulate non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and clarified this applied to sexual deepfakes generated with AI.
It said networks such as X were required to take "suitable steps" to "minimize the danger" of users encountering illegal content on their platforms and to remove it quickly when they become aware of it.
