The online platform X has sparked major backlash after individuals utilized its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to alter pictures of women by removing their clothing.
Multiple examples have been seen where the system has been employed to virtually strip women to render them in swimwear non-consensually, as well as to put them in sexualized scenarios.
Developer Reaction and Regulatory Position
XAI, the firm that created Grok, did not respond to inquiries, except for an standard response stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A government representative stated that legislation is being introduced to ban image stripping software. Under a new law, anyone who distributed such tools would "face a prison sentence and substantial penalties".
"The platform could prevent these forms of abuse if they wanted to," said a law professor, adding they "seem to have impunity."
Oversight Body Stance and Tool Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "consider the danger" of people seeing unlawful material on their networks, but did not confirm whether it was currently investigating X or Grok in relation to AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a no-cost AI assistant—with some paid-for functions—which responds to X users' requests when they reference it in a tweet.
It is commonly used to offer commentary or further background to other posters' comments, but people on X are also can edit an uploaded picture through its AI image editing function.
Background of Controversy and Policy
The system has been criticised for permitting users to produce photos and videos with explicit content and sexually suggestive material, and it was previously alleged to have been involved in generating graphic content of public figures.
"The platform has been allowing the production and distribution of these images for a long time without taking any steps and we have not witnessed any intervention by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own terms of service bans "showing images of persons in a sexually explicit way".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was illegal to "generate or distribute deepfakes or illegal content" and clarified this covered explicit AI images made with AI.
It said services such as X were required to take "suitable measures" to "lessen the risk" of users viewing unlawful material on their services and to remove it promptly when they are notified of it.
