The online platform X has sparked widespread backlash after users used its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to alter pictures of women by removing their garments.
Several instances have emerged where the technology has been employed to digitally undress female subjects to show them in swimwear without consent, as well as to insert them in sexually explicit situations.
Company Reaction and Legal Position
XAI, the company that created Grok, remained silent to questions, aside from an standard message stating "legacy media lies".
A government official stated that new laws is being brought forward to outlaw nudification software. Under a upcoming law, anyone who provided such tools would "be subject to a jail term and significant penalties".
"X or Grok has the ability to stop these forms of abuse if they chose to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "appear to enjoy a lack of consequences."
Regulator Stance and Tool Capabilities
The communications watchdog Ofcom said technology companies must "assess the potential" of people viewing illegal content on their networks, but did not specify whether it was currently investigating X or Grok in concerning AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a no-cost artificial intelligence—with some premium functions—which answers X users' queries when they tag it in a post.
It is frequently used to provide reactions or further context to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also capable of alter an uploaded photo through its AI image editing tool.
History of Criticism and Rules
The chatbot has been faulted for enabling users to create images and clips with nudity and sexually suggestive content, and it was in the past accused of generating graphic material of public figures.
"The platform has been permitting the production and distribution of these pictures for months without taking any action and we have not seen any action by oversight bodies," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own terms of service prohibits "portraying likenesses of persons in a graphic fashion".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was illegal to "create or distribute private pictures or child sexual abuse material" and stated this included explicit AI images made with AI.
It said services such as X were mandated to take "appropriate steps" to "minimize the danger" of users encountering unlawful content on their platforms and to take down it swiftly when they learn of it.
