Elon Musk's online platform X has caused major outrage after users used its AI chatbot Grok to alter photos of women by taking off their attire.
Multiple examples have emerged where the technology has been employed to remove clothing from women to render them in bikinis non-consensually, as well as to place them in sexualized scenarios.
Company Response and Legal Stance
XAI, the firm responsible for Grok, offered no comment to inquiries, except for an standard response stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A Home Office official stated that legislation is being introduced to prohibit nudification technology. Under a new criminal offence, anyone who provided such technology would "receive a prison sentence and heavy penalties".
"X or Grok is capable of halting these forms of misuse if they wanted to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "operate with impunity."
Regulator Position and Tool Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "assess the potential" of people seeing unlawful material on their services, but stopped short of confirming whether it was currently examining X or Grok in regarding AI-generated images.
Grok is a free AI assistant—with some additional features—which responds to X users' queries when they reference it in a post.
It is often used to give reactions or further context to other users' comments, but people on X are also able to alter an posted picture through its artificial intelligence picture modification function.
History of Criticism and Rules
The chatbot has been faulted for allowing users to generate photos and videos with nudity and sexually suggestive content, and it was previously alleged to have been involved in generating graphic material of celebrities.
"The platform has been allowing the production and distribution of these images for months without taking any steps and we have yet to see any action by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy prohibits "showing likenesses of individuals in a graphic fashion".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was illegal to "generate or distribute private pictures or illegal content" and confirmed this included explicit AI images made with AI.
It said platforms such as X were required to take "appropriate measures" to "minimize the danger" of users viewing unlawful material on their services and to take down it swiftly when they learn of it.
