The social media network X has caused significant outrage after users utilized its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to manipulate photos of women by stripping their attire.
Numerous instances have emerged where the system has been used to remove clothing from women to make them appear in swimwear without consent, as well as to put them in sexually explicit situations.
Developer Reaction and Regulatory Position
XAI, the organization behind Grok, remained silent to inquiries, other than an automatically-generated response stating "legacy media lies".
A government spokesperson stated that legislation is being brought forward to prohibit image stripping tools. Under a upcoming criminal offence, anyone who supplied such technology would "receive a prison sentence and heavy fines".
"X or Grok has the ability to stop these types of abuse if they chose to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "operate with impunity."
Oversight Body Position and Platform Functionality
The communications watchdog Ofcom said technology companies must "assess the danger" of people viewing unlawful material on their networks, but did not specify whether it was presently investigating X or Grok in regarding artificial intelligence images.
Grok is a no-cost artificial intelligence—with some additional features—which answers X users' queries when they mention it in a message.
It is often used to give reactions 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 tool.
Background of Criticism and Rules
The tool has been condemned for permitting users to create pictures and footage with nudity and sexualised material, and it was earlier alleged to have been involved in making sexually explicit content of celebrities.
"The platform has been permitting the generation 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 terms of service bans "portraying images of people in a pornographic manner".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was against the law to "create or distribute private pictures or child sexual abuse material" and stated this included sexual deepfakes created with AI.
It said platforms such as X were required to take "suitable actions" to "lessen the risk" of users viewing illegal content on their services and to remove it swiftly when they learn of it.
