The social media network X has caused major outrage after users employed its AI chatbot Grok to change pictures of females by removing their clothing.
Numerous cases have emerged where the tool has been employed to digitally undress female subjects to render them in bikinis without permission, as well as to place them in sexually explicit scenarios.
Developer Reaction and Regulatory Position
XAI, the company behind Grok, offered no comment to inquiries, except for an auto-reply message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A government official stated that legislation is being proposed to ban nudification technology. Under a new law, anyone who provided such tools would "face a prison sentence and heavy fines".
"The platform has the ability to stop these types of abuse if they wanted to," said a law professor, adding they "appear to enjoy impunity."
Regulator Stance and Platform Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said technology companies must "evaluate the risk" of people viewing illegal content on their services, but stopped short of confirming whether it was presently investigating X or Grok in concerning AI-generated images.
Grok is a no-cost AI assistant—with some paid-for functions—which reacts to X users' prompts when they reference it in a message.
It is often used to give commentary or more context to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also can alter an uploaded photo through its artificial intelligence picture modification feature.
Background of Controversy and Rules
The tool has been condemned for enabling users to create pictures and footage with nudity and sexually suggestive material, and it was earlier accused of creating inappropriate content of public figures.
"X has been enabling the generation and sharing of these pictures for a long time without taking any measures and we have not witnessed any action by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own terms of service prohibits "depicting images of persons in a graphic manner".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "generate or circulate private pictures or illegal content" and clarified this applied to explicit AI images created with AI.
It said networks such as X were obligated to take "appropriate measures" to "minimize the danger" of users viewing illegal content on their platforms and to take down it quickly when they become aware of it.
