The online network X has provoked significant outrage after users used its AI chatbot Grok to change pictures of females by stripping their attire.
Multiple instances have emerged where the technology has been employed to digitally undress female subjects to render them in swimwear without consent, as well as to put them in sexually explicit situations.
Developer Response and Legal Stance
XAI, the organization behind Grok, remained silent to questions, except for an auto-reply message stating "legacy media lies".
A government representative stated that new laws is being introduced to outlaw nudification technology. Under a upcoming criminal offence, anyone who distributed such tools would "be subject to a jail term and substantial fines".
"X or Grok could prevent these types of abuse if they desired to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "appear to enjoy a lack of consequences."
Regulator Stance and Platform Capabilities
The communications watchdog Ofcom said technology companies must "assess the potential" of people seeing illegal content on their services, but stopped short of confirming whether it was currently looking into X or Grok in regarding AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a free AI assistant—with some additional functions—which answers X users' requests when they tag it in a message.
It is commonly used to provide reactions or more background to other posters' comments, but people on X are also capable of edit an uploaded image through its artificial intelligence picture modification feature.
History of Criticism and Policy
The tool has been faulted for allowing users to generate pictures and footage with explicit content and sexually suggestive material, and it was earlier accused of generating graphic material of celebrities.
"X has been enabling the generation and distribution of these images for a long time without taking any action and we have yet to see any intervention by oversight bodies," the expert added.
XAI's own usage rules prohibits "depicting likenesses of people in a pornographic way".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "generate or distribute non-consensual intimate images or child sexual abuse material" and clarified this applied to sexual deepfakes created with AI.
It said services such as X were obligated to take "suitable measures" to "minimize the danger" of users viewing illegal material on their platforms and to take down it promptly when they learn of it.
