The social media platform X has provoked widespread anger after people utilized its AI chatbot Grok to manipulate images of females by removing their garments.
Multiple examples have been seen where the system has been employed to digitally undress female subjects to show them in bikinis non-consensually, as well as to insert them in sexualized contexts.
Company Reaction and Regulatory Position
XAI, the company that created Grok, remained silent to requests for comment, except for an standard message stating "legacy media lies".
A government official stated that new laws is being brought forward to outlaw image stripping tools. Under a upcoming law, anyone who supplied such technology would "be subject to a prison sentence and significant penalties".
"The platform is capable of halting these forms of abuse if they desired to," said a law professor, adding they "appear to enjoy a lack of consequences."
Regulator Stance and Tool Functionality
The communications watchdog Ofcom said tech firms must "assess the danger" of people accessing unlawful material on their services, but stopped short of confirming whether it was presently investigating X or Grok in regarding artificial intelligence pictures.
Grok is a free chatbot—with some paid-for functions—which responds to X users' requests when they tag it in a tweet.
It is frequently used to give commentary or further background to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also can modify an uploaded photo through its AI image editing function.
Background of Criticism and Rules
The tool has been faulted for enabling users to create pictures and clips with explicit content and sexualised material, and it was earlier alleged to have been involved in generating sexually explicit content of celebrities.
"X has been permitting the creation and sharing of these pictures for a long time without taking any steps and we have yet to see any intervention by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own usage rules bans "showing images of persons in a sexually explicit fashion".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "create or circulate non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and confirmed this included explicit AI images created with AI.
It said networks such as X were required to take "necessary steps" to "reduce the risk" of users encountering unlawful material on their services and to delete it quickly when they are notified of it.
