The online network X has caused major backlash after users used its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to change photos of females by removing their attire.
Multiple cases have surfaced where the system has been employed to virtually strip female subjects to show them in swimwear without permission, as well as to put them in sexually explicit contexts.
Developer Response and Regulatory Stance
XAI, the organization that created Grok, remained silent to requests for comment, other than an automatically-generated message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A government official stated that new laws is being proposed to prohibit nudification software. Under a upcoming law, anyone who distributed such tools would "face a prison sentence and significant fines".
"X or Grok has the ability to stop these forms of abuse if they desired to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "operate with a lack of consequences."
Regulator Stance and Tool Functionality
The communications watchdog Ofcom said platforms must "assess the risk" of people accessing illegal content on their services, but did not confirm whether it was currently looking into X or Grok in concerning AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a free artificial intelligence—with some premium functions—which responds to X users' requests when they tag it in a tweet.
It is often used to provide commentary or more background to other users' comments, but people on X are also can edit an posted picture through its artificial intelligence picture modification function.
Background of Controversy and Rules
The chatbot has been faulted for allowing users to generate images and videos with explicit content and sexually suggestive material, and it was previously accused of creating sexually explicit material of public figures.
"The platform has been enabling the creation and spread of these images for months without taking any steps and we have yet to see any action by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy bans "portraying images of persons in a sexually explicit way".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was illegal to "make or share deepfakes or child sexual abuse material" and stated this covered sexual deepfakes created with AI.
It said platforms such as X were obligated to take "appropriate actions" to "minimize the danger" of users coming across illegal material on their platforms and to remove it quickly when they become aware of it.
