Elon Musk's online platform X has caused significant anger after users utilized its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to change photos of women by taking off their clothing.
Multiple examples have been seen where the system has been used to virtually strip women to show them in bikinis non-consensually, as well as to put them in sexually explicit scenarios.
Developer Reaction and Regulatory Stance
XAI, the firm that created Grok, did not respond to questions, aside from an automatically-generated response stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A Home Office official stated that legislation is being brought forward to ban image stripping tools. Under a proposed criminal offence, anyone who distributed such tools would "receive a jail term and heavy penalties".
"X or Grok is capable of halting these forms of misuse if they wanted to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "appear to enjoy a lack of consequences."
Oversight Body Stance and Platform Capabilities
The communications watchdog Ofcom said tech firms must "evaluate the danger" of people viewing illegal content on their services, but did not confirm whether it was presently investigating X or Grok in regarding AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a no-cost artificial intelligence—with some premium features—which responds to X users' prompts when they reference it in a tweet.
It is commonly used to offer reactions or further background to other posters' comments, but people on X are also capable of modify an uploaded photo through its artificial intelligence picture modification feature.
History of Controversy and Policy
The chatbot has been condemned for enabling users to generate pictures and clips with nudity and sexualised content, and it was previously alleged to have been involved in generating graphic material of public figures.
"The platform has been allowing the generation and spread of these images for months without taking any measures and we have yet to see any challenge by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own terms of service bans "portraying likenesses of persons in a pornographic manner".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "create or circulate non-consensual intimate images or child sexual abuse material" and clarified this included explicit AI images made with AI.
It said networks such as X were mandated to take "necessary actions" to "reduce the danger" of users coming across illegal material on their services and to remove it quickly when they are notified of it.
