The online platform X has provoked widespread backlash after users employed its AI chatbot Grok to manipulate pictures of females by stripping their clothing.
Multiple instances have been seen where the tool has been used to remove clothing from women to make them appear in swimwear without consent, as well as to insert them in inappropriate situations.
Company Reaction and Legal Stance
XAI, the firm responsible for Grok, offered no comment to questions, other than an auto-reply message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A Home Office official stated that new laws is being introduced to prohibit image stripping technology. Under a upcoming law, anyone who provided such tools would "be subject to a prison sentence and heavy penalties".
"X or Grok has the ability to stop these types of abuse if they chose to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "appear to enjoy impunity."
Regulator Stance and Tool Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "consider the potential" of people accessing unlawful material on their platforms, but stopped short of confirming whether it was at this time examining X or Grok in regarding artificial intelligence images.
Grok is a no-cost chatbot—with some premium functions—which answers X users' requests when they reference it in a tweet.
It is frequently used to provide commentary or more context to other users' remarks, but people on X are also capable of alter an posted photo through its artificial intelligence picture modification function.
Background of Criticism and Policy
The tool has been criticised for permitting users to create images and videos with explicit content and sexually suggestive material, and it was in the past accused of creating sexually explicit material of celebrities.
"The platform has been permitting the production and sharing of these images for months without taking any action and we have not witnessed any intervention by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy bans "depicting images of persons in a sexually explicit manner".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was illegal to "generate or distribute non-consensual intimate images or child sexual abuse material" and confirmed this included sexual deepfakes generated with AI.
It said networks such as X were mandated to take "appropriate measures" to "lessen the risk" of users encountering illegal content on their platforms and to remove it quickly when they are notified of it.
