The online network X has sparked major anger after users employed its AI chatbot Grok to change images of females by removing their clothing.
Several instances have emerged where the tool has been employed to virtually strip women to render them in bikinis non-consensually, as well as to place them in sexualized situations.
Developer Reaction and Regulatory Stance
XAI, the firm that created Grok, remained silent to inquiries, aside from an standard response stating "legacy media lies".
A Home Office spokesperson stated that new laws is being proposed to outlaw nudification technology. Under a upcoming criminal offence, anyone who supplied such technology would "receive a prison sentence and substantial penalties".
"The platform could prevent these types of misuse if they desired to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "appear to enjoy a lack of consequences."
Regulator Position and Tool Functionality
The communications watchdog Ofcom said platforms must "consider the potential" of people accessing illegal content on their networks, but did not confirm whether it was at this time examining X or Grok in relation to artificial intelligence images.
Grok is a no-cost AI assistant—with some paid-for functions—which reacts to X users' requests when they tag it in a tweet.
It is often used to offer commentary or additional context to other users' remarks, but people on X are also can edit an posted photo through its AI image editing function.
Background of Criticism and Rules
The chatbot has been faulted for allowing users to produce pictures and footage with explicit content and sexualised content, and it was previously accused of creating sexually explicit material of celebrities.
"X has been enabling the production and distribution of these images for months without taking any steps and we have yet to see any action by oversight bodies," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own usage rules forbids "portraying likenesses of individuals in a pornographic way".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was against the law to "generate or distribute deepfakes or illegal content" and confirmed this included sexual deepfakes created with AI.
It said services such as X were required to take "appropriate measures" to "lessen the danger" of users encountering unlawful content on their services and to take down it promptly when they become aware of it.
