The online network X has provoked significant backlash after individuals used its AI chatbot Grok to change photos of women by taking off their attire.
Several cases have emerged where the tool has been employed to remove clothing from female subjects to render them in swimwear without consent, as well as to insert them in inappropriate scenarios.
Developer Reaction and Regulatory Position
XAI, the company that created Grok, did not respond to requests for comment, aside from an standard message stating "legacy media lies".
A Home Office official stated that new laws is being proposed to outlaw image stripping technology. Under a new law, anyone who provided such technology would "face a jail term and substantial fines".
"X or Grok could prevent these forms of misuse if they chose to," said a law professor, adding they "appear to enjoy a lack of consequences."
Oversight Body Stance and Platform Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "evaluate the danger" of people accessing unlawful material on their platforms, but did not specify whether it was presently looking into X or Grok in concerning AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a free AI assistant—with some paid-for functions—which reacts to X users' queries when they mention it in a message.
It is frequently used to offer commentary or additional context to other posters' comments, but people on X are also can alter an uploaded picture through its AI image editing function.
History of Criticism and Policy
The tool has been condemned for permitting users to produce images and footage with explicit content and sexually suggestive material, and it was in the past accused of creating graphic content of public figures.
"X has been enabling the generation and distribution of these pictures for months without taking any steps and we have not seen any action by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy prohibits "showing likenesses of people in a pornographic fashion".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was illegal to "generate or circulate non-consensual intimate images or child sexual abuse material" and confirmed this covered explicit AI images created with AI.
It said networks such as X were mandated to take "suitable steps" to "reduce the danger" of users coming across unlawful material on their platforms and to delete it swiftly when they are notified of it.
