The online network X has sparked major anger after users used its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to alter pictures of females by removing their garments.
Multiple instances have emerged where the system has been employed to virtually strip women to show them in swimwear non-consensually, as well as to place them in inappropriate scenarios.
Company Reaction and Regulatory Position
XAI, the organization that created Grok, remained silent to requests for comment, other than an automatically-generated message stating "legacy media lies".
A Home Office spokesperson stated that new laws is being proposed to prohibit nudification software. Under a proposed criminal offence, anyone who distributed such technology would "receive a jail term and heavy penalties".
"X or Grok is capable of halting these forms of abuse if they wanted to," said a law professor, adding they "seem to have impunity."
Oversight Body Position and Tool Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "evaluate the risk" of people seeing illegal content on their platforms, but did not confirm whether it was presently looking into X or Grok in relation to AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a no-cost chatbot—with some additional functions—which reacts to X users' prompts when they mention it in a tweet.
It is commonly used to provide commentary or additional context to other users' remarks, but people on X are also can edit an uploaded image through its artificial intelligence picture modification tool.
Background of Criticism and Policy
The system has been condemned for allowing users to produce pictures and clips with nudity and sexualised content, and it was earlier accused of creating sexually explicit material of celebrities.
"The platform has been enabling the generation and sharing of these pictures for a long time without taking any steps and we have not seen any challenge by oversight bodies," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy prohibits "showing images of people in a graphic way".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was illegal to "create or circulate non-consensual intimate images or child sexual abuse material" and confirmed this included explicit AI images made with AI.
It said networks such as X were obligated to take "suitable actions" to "minimize the danger" of users encountering illegal content on their services and to remove it promptly when they are notified of it.
