The online network X has caused widespread backlash after users utilized its AI chatbot Grok to change photos of females by removing their clothing.
Numerous instances have emerged where the technology has been employed to remove clothing from women to make them appear in swimwear without consent, as well as to place them in inappropriate scenarios.
Company Response and Regulatory Position
XAI, the company that created Grok, offered no comment to requests for comment, aside from an automatically-generated message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A government spokesperson stated that legislation is being introduced to prohibit image stripping tools. Under a upcoming criminal offence, anyone who distributed such tools would "face a prison sentence and substantial penalties".
"X or Grok is capable of halting these forms of abuse if they wanted to," said a law professor, adding they "operate with impunity."
Oversight Body Stance and Tool Functionality
The communications watchdog Ofcom said technology companies must "consider the potential" of people viewing unlawful material on their services, but did not specify whether it was at this time looking into X or Grok in concerning artificial intelligence images.
Grok is a free AI assistant—with some additional features—which answers X users' queries when they reference it in a tweet.
It is often used to offer commentary or more context to other users' comments, but people on X are also capable of edit an uploaded photo through its artificial intelligence picture modification feature.
History of Criticism and Policy
The tool has been faulted for allowing users to generate images and videos with nudity and sexualised material, and it was in the past accused of generating inappropriate material of celebrities.
"X has been permitting the production and spread of these pictures for months without taking any action and we have not witnessed any intervention by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own terms of service bans "portraying likenesses of persons in a pornographic way".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "generate or circulate private pictures or child sexual abuse material" and clarified this covered explicit AI images created with AI.
It said services such as X were mandated to take "necessary steps" to "reduce the danger" of users viewing unlawful content on their platforms and to remove it quickly when they learn of it.
