The social media network X has sparked widespread anger after people employed its AI chatbot Grok to alter pictures of females by taking off their garments.
Multiple examples have surfaced where the system has been used to digitally undress women to render them in bikinis non-consensually, as well as to put them in sexually explicit scenarios.
Company Response and Regulatory Position
XAI, the organization responsible for Grok, did not respond to inquiries, aside from an standard response stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A Home Office representative stated that new laws is being introduced to prohibit nudification technology. Under a proposed law, anyone who provided such tools would "be subject to a jail term and significant penalties".
"The platform could prevent these forms of misuse if they chose to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "appear to enjoy a lack of consequences."
Regulator Position and Tool Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said technology companies must "evaluate the danger" of people viewing illegal content on their networks, but stopped short of confirming whether it was at this time looking into X or Grok in relation to AI-generated images.
Grok is a free chatbot—with some paid-for features—which responds to X users' queries when they mention it in a message.
It is commonly used to provide commentary or additional context to other posters' comments, but people on X are also able to edit an posted picture through its artificial intelligence picture modification tool.
Background of Controversy and Rules
The system has been condemned for allowing users to create images and clips with nudity and sexually suggestive material, and it was in the past alleged to have been involved in generating graphic material of celebrities.
"The platform has been permitting the production and spread of these pictures for a long time without taking any measures and we have yet to see any challenge by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own terms of service prohibits "depicting images of people in a graphic way".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "make or share non-consensual intimate images or child sexual abuse material" and clarified this included sexual deepfakes made with AI.
It said services such as X were mandated to take "appropriate actions" to "minimize the danger" of users encountering unlawful content on their services and to remove it quickly when they learn of it.
