The online platform X has caused significant anger after people used its AI chatbot Grok to change pictures of women by stripping their attire.
Multiple instances have been seen where the system has been used to remove clothing from female subjects to render them in bikinis without permission, as well as to put them in sexually explicit scenarios.
Company Response and Regulatory Stance
XAI, the organization responsible for Grok, remained silent to requests for comment, other than an auto-reply message stating "legacy media lies".
A Home Office representative stated that legislation is being proposed to prohibit image stripping software. Under a proposed law, anyone who supplied such technology would "face a prison sentence and significant fines".
"The platform is capable of halting these types of abuse if they chose to," said a law professor, adding they "operate with a lack of consequences."
Regulator Position and Tool Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "consider the potential" of people seeing unlawful material on their services, but stopped short of confirming whether it was currently examining X or Grok in regarding AI-generated images.
Grok is a no-cost artificial intelligence—with some paid-for functions—which reacts to X users' queries when they mention it in a post.
It is commonly used to give reactions or additional context to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also can edit an posted image through its artificial intelligence picture modification function.
Background of Criticism and Policy
The chatbot has been criticised for allowing users to create images and footage with nudity and sexually suggestive material, and it was in the past alleged to have been involved in creating inappropriate material of public figures.
"The platform has been permitting the generation and spread of these images for months without taking any action and we have yet to see any intervention by oversight bodies," the expert added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy prohibits "showing likenesses of persons in a sexually explicit manner".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was against the law to "create or share non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and clarified this covered explicit AI images created with AI.
It said platforms such as X were mandated to take "necessary actions" to "minimize the risk" of users encountering unlawful content on their platforms and to delete it quickly when they learn of it.
