Elon Musk's online network X has caused major backlash after individuals utilized its AI chatbot Grok to alter pictures of women by stripping their clothing.
Several cases have surfaced where the technology has been used to virtually strip women to make them appear in bikinis non-consensually, as well as to place them in inappropriate situations.
Developer Reaction and Legal Position
XAI, the company behind Grok, remained silent to requests for comment, other than an standard message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A Home Office spokesperson stated that new laws is being brought forward to prohibit image stripping tools. Under a proposed law, anyone who supplied such tools would "be subject to a jail term and heavy penalties".
"The platform could prevent these forms of misuse if they wanted to," said a law professor, adding they "seem to have impunity."
Regulator Stance and Platform Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "assess the danger" of people seeing illegal content on their platforms, but stopped short of confirming whether it was presently looking into X or Grok in relation to artificial intelligence pictures.
Grok is a free AI assistant—with some additional features—which reacts to X users' requests when they reference it in a message.
It is frequently used to offer reactions or further context to other users' remarks, but people on X are also able to modify an uploaded picture through its AI image editing tool.
History of Controversy and Rules
The tool has been faulted for allowing users to produce photos and videos with nudity and sexualised content, and it was in the past accused of making inappropriate material of public figures.
"The platform has been permitting the creation and spread of these images for a long time without taking any steps and we have yet to see any challenge by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own usage rules forbids "portraying images of persons in a pornographic fashion".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was against the law to "create or distribute non-consensual intimate images or child sexual abuse material" and clarified this applied to sexual deepfakes made with AI.
It said platforms such as X were obligated to take "appropriate actions" to "lessen the risk" of users encountering illegal content on their services and to remove it promptly when they are notified of it.
