Elon Musk's online network X has caused major outrage after people utilized its AI chatbot Grok to alter photos of females by removing their garments.
Several cases have surfaced where the system has been used to digitally undress women to show them in bikinis without permission, as well as to insert them in inappropriate situations.
Developer Reaction and Legal Stance
XAI, the firm responsible for Grok, remained silent to inquiries, aside from an standard message stating "legacy media lies".
A government official stated that new laws is being brought forward to prohibit nudification technology. Under a upcoming law, anyone who provided such technology would "be subject to a prison sentence and heavy fines".
"X or Grok is capable of halting these types of abuse if they wanted to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "operate with impunity."
Oversight Body Position and Tool Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "assess the danger" of people accessing illegal content on their services, but did not specify whether it was presently looking into X or Grok in concerning artificial intelligence images.
Grok is a no-cost AI assistant—with some additional features—which reacts to X users' queries when they tag it in a message.
It is frequently used to offer commentary or more background to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also able to alter an posted photo through its artificial intelligence picture modification function.
Background of Controversy and Rules
The tool has been criticised for enabling users to produce pictures and footage with nudity and sexualised content, and it was previously accused of creating inappropriate material of celebrities.
"X has been enabling the creation and distribution of these pictures for months without taking any measures and we have yet to see any intervention by oversight bodies," the expert added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy bans "depicting likenesses of individuals in a graphic manner".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "create or circulate non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and clarified this covered explicit AI images created with AI.
It said services such as X were mandated to take "suitable actions" to "minimize the danger" of users encountering illegal material on their platforms and to take down it swiftly when they learn of it.
