The online network X has provoked significant outrage after individuals utilized its AI chatbot Grok to alter photos of females by stripping their attire.
Multiple examples have been seen where the system has been employed to remove clothing from women to render them in bikinis without permission, as well as to place them in inappropriate scenarios.
Developer Response and Legal Stance
XAI, the firm that created Grok, remained silent to questions, aside from an standard message stating "legacy media lies".
A Home Office official stated that new laws is being brought forward to outlaw nudification technology. Under a upcoming criminal offence, anyone who distributed such tools would "face a jail term and substantial penalties".
"The platform is capable of halting these types of misuse if they wanted to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "seem to have a lack of consequences."
Oversight Body Stance and Platform Capabilities
The communications watchdog Ofcom said platforms must "consider the potential" of people viewing unlawful material on their services, 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 responds to X users' requests when they tag it in a message.
It is often used to give commentary or further background to other users' comments, but people on X are also can modify an posted picture through its AI image editing feature.
History of Controversy and Rules
The tool has been faulted for permitting users to produce pictures and videos with nudity and sexually suggestive content, and it was previously accused of creating sexually explicit material of celebrities.
"The platform has been permitting the production and spread of these pictures for months without taking any steps and we have yet to see any challenge by oversight bodies," the expert added.
XAI's own terms of service prohibits "portraying likenesses of people in a graphic fashion".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was illegal to "generate or share deepfakes or child sexual abuse material" and stated this included sexual deepfakes made with AI.
It said networks such as X were mandated to take "appropriate steps" to "reduce the danger" of users coming across illegal material on their platforms and to take down it promptly when they learn of it.
