The online network X has sparked major backlash after individuals used its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to alter images of females by removing their attire.
Several instances have emerged where the system has been used to virtually strip female subjects to show them in bikinis non-consensually, as well as to put them in inappropriate scenarios.
Company Response and Legal Stance
XAI, the company that created Grok, offered no comment to questions, other than an automatically-generated message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A Home Office spokesperson stated that new laws is being introduced to prohibit nudification software. Under a upcoming law, anyone who distributed such tools would "receive a jail term and substantial fines".
"The platform is capable of halting these types of abuse if they desired to," said a law professor, adding they "seem to have a lack of consequences."
Regulator Stance and Tool Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said technology companies must "assess the danger" of people viewing illegal content on their services, but did not specify whether it was presently looking into X or Grok in relation to AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a free chatbot—with some paid-for functions—which responds to X users' requests when they tag it in a message.
It is frequently used to give reactions or more background to other posters' comments, but people on X are also able to modify an uploaded picture through its AI image editing function.
History of Criticism and Policy
The system has been faulted for enabling users to create images and footage with explicit content and sexually suggestive content, and it was in the past accused of making sexually explicit material of public figures.
"X has been enabling the production and spread of these images for a long time without taking any action and we have not witnessed any challenge by oversight bodies," the expert added.
XAI's own usage rules bans "depicting likenesses of persons in a sexually explicit manner".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "make or circulate private pictures or child sexual abuse material" and stated this included sexual deepfakes made with AI.
It said services such as X were required to take "suitable measures" to "lessen the risk" of users coming across illegal content on their services and to take down it promptly when they become aware of it.
