The social media network X has caused major outrage after individuals used its AI chatbot Grok to change images of females by removing their garments.
Numerous instances have emerged where the tool has been employed to virtually strip female subjects to render them in bikinis without consent, as well as to insert them in inappropriate scenarios.
Developer Reaction and Legal Position
XAI, the organization that created Grok, did not respond to requests for comment, aside from an auto-reply response stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A government spokesperson stated that new laws is being introduced to prohibit nudification tools. Under a upcoming law, anyone who provided such tools would "receive a prison sentence and significant penalties".
"The platform has the ability to stop these types of abuse if they wanted to," said a law professor, adding they "operate with impunity."
Regulator Stance and Platform Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said platforms must "consider the potential" of people accessing unlawful material on their services, but did not confirm whether it was currently examining X or Grok in regarding AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a no-cost chatbot—with some paid-for features—which reacts to X users' prompts when they reference it in a tweet.
It is commonly used to give commentary or more background to other users' comments, but people on X are also can edit an uploaded picture through its AI image editing feature.
History of Criticism and Policy
The tool has been condemned for enabling users to generate pictures and videos with nudity and sexually suggestive content, and it was earlier alleged to have been involved in making sexually explicit material of celebrities.
"X has been allowing the generation and distribution of these pictures for months without taking any action and we have yet to see any challenge by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own terms of service prohibits "portraying images of persons in a pornographic manner".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was against the law to "create or circulate private pictures or child sexual abuse material" and confirmed this applied to sexual deepfakes created with AI.
It said platforms such as X were obligated to take "appropriate actions" to "reduce the risk" of users coming across illegal material on their platforms and to remove it promptly when they become aware of it.
