The social media network X has caused major outrage after individuals used its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to manipulate pictures of women by stripping their garments.
Multiple cases have surfaced where the system has been used to remove clothing from female subjects to make them appear in bikinis without permission, as well as to put them in sexualized scenarios.
Developer Response and Legal Position
XAI, the company responsible for Grok, did not respond to questions, other than an standard response stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A government representative stated that legislation is being brought forward to prohibit image stripping software. Under a upcoming criminal offence, anyone who provided such technology would "receive a jail term and substantial penalties".
"X or Grok is capable of halting these types of abuse if they desired to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "seem to have a lack of consequences."
Regulator Position and Platform Functionality
The communications watchdog Ofcom said platforms must "consider the risk" of people viewing unlawful material on their services, but stopped short of confirming whether it was presently looking into X or Grok in regarding AI-generated images.
Grok is a free AI assistant—with some premium features—which answers X users' queries when they reference it in a post.
It is often used to offer commentary or further context to other users' comments, but people on X are also can edit an uploaded photo through its AI image editing function.
History of Criticism and Policy
The tool has been condemned for permitting users to generate photos and footage with explicit content and sexualised content, and it was previously alleged to have been involved in generating inappropriate content of public figures.
"The platform has been permitting the creation and sharing of these pictures for months without taking any steps and we have not witnessed any challenge by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own usage rules bans "showing likenesses of individuals in a graphic way".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "make or distribute deepfakes or child sexual abuse material" and confirmed this included sexual deepfakes generated with AI.
It said services such as X were obligated to take "appropriate steps" to "lessen the risk" of users encountering illegal content on their platforms and to delete it swiftly when they become aware of it.
