The social media platform X has caused significant outrage after people utilized its AI chatbot Grok to manipulate images of women by removing their attire.
Several instances have surfaced where the tool has been employed to remove clothing from female subjects to make them appear in swimwear non-consensually, as well as to insert them in inappropriate situations.
Developer Response and Regulatory Stance
XAI, the organization that created Grok, did not respond to requests for comment, other than an auto-reply response stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A government spokesperson stated that new laws is being brought forward to ban image stripping software. Under a upcoming law, anyone who supplied such technology would "be subject to a prison sentence and significant fines".
"X or Grok is capable of halting these forms of misuse if they chose to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "seem to have impunity."
Oversight Body Position and Platform Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said platforms must "consider the danger" of people seeing illegal content on their services, but stopped short of confirming whether it was currently examining X or Grok in concerning AI-generated images.
Grok is a no-cost chatbot—with some paid-for functions—which reacts to X users' requests when they tag it in a message.
It is often used to offer reactions or more context to other users' remarks, but people on X are also capable of modify an uploaded photo through its AI image editing function.
Background of Criticism and Rules
The tool has been condemned for allowing users to generate photos and clips with nudity and sexually suggestive content, and it was previously alleged to have been involved in creating sexually explicit material of public figures.
"X has been permitting the creation and spread of these pictures for a long time without taking any measures and we have not witnessed any challenge by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own terms of service forbids "portraying likenesses of individuals in a graphic manner".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was against the law to "make or circulate non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and clarified this applied to explicit AI images generated with AI.
It said networks such as X were mandated to take "suitable measures" to "minimize the danger" of users encountering illegal content on their services and to take down it promptly when they become aware of it.
