The online platform X has sparked major outrage after people used its AI chatbot Grok to alter images of women by removing their clothing.
Several cases have surfaced where the system has been used to virtually strip female subjects to make them appear in bikinis non-consensually, as well as to insert them in inappropriate situations.
Developer Response and Regulatory Stance
XAI, the company behind Grok, offered no comment to questions, except for an standard message stating "legacy media lies".
A Home Office spokesperson stated that new laws is being brought forward to outlaw nudification software. Under a proposed law, anyone who supplied such technology would "be subject to a jail term and substantial fines".
"X or Grok could prevent these forms of abuse if they chose to," said a law professor, adding they "operate with a lack of consequences."
Oversight Body Stance and Platform Functionality
The communications watchdog Ofcom said technology companies must "evaluate the danger" of people viewing unlawful material on their networks, but did not confirm whether it was presently looking into X or Grok in concerning artificial intelligence images.
Grok is a no-cost AI assistant—with some premium functions—which answers X users' requests when they tag it in a post.
It is often used to offer commentary or further background to other posters' comments, but people on X are also can edit an posted image through its artificial intelligence picture modification function.
History of Criticism and Policy
The chatbot has been criticised for permitting users to create images and videos with nudity and sexually suggestive content, and it was in the past alleged to have been involved in creating sexually explicit material of celebrities.
"X has been allowing the production and sharing of these images for a long time without taking any measures and we have not witnessed any action by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy bans "depicting likenesses of persons in a graphic fashion".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was against the law to "generate or distribute deepfakes or child sexual abuse material" and clarified this covered explicit AI images generated with AI.
It said networks such as X were obligated to take "appropriate steps" to "minimize the risk" of users viewing unlawful content on their services and to take down it quickly when they are notified of it.
