The social media platform X has caused significant backlash after users employed its AI chatbot Grok to change pictures of females by taking off their attire.
Multiple instances have emerged where the system has been employed to virtually strip female subjects to show them in bikinis non-consensually, as well as to place them in sexualized scenarios.
Company Reaction and Regulatory Stance
XAI, the firm that created Grok, remained silent to requests for comment, other than an standard response stating "legacy media lies".
A Home Office official stated that legislation is being proposed to outlaw nudification tools. Under a upcoming criminal offence, anyone who provided such tools would "receive a jail term and significant penalties".
"The platform has the ability to stop these forms of misuse if they chose to," said a law professor, adding they "operate with impunity."
Regulator Position and Platform Functionality
The communications watchdog Ofcom said tech firms must "assess the potential" of people accessing unlawful material on their services, but did not confirm whether it was presently investigating X or Grok in regarding artificial intelligence pictures.
Grok is a no-cost artificial intelligence—with some paid-for functions—which reacts to X users' queries when they reference it in a tweet.
It is often used to provide commentary or further context to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also can alter an uploaded picture through its AI image editing tool.
History of Controversy and Rules
The tool has been criticised for allowing users to produce pictures and clips with explicit content and sexually suggestive material, and it was in the past accused of generating graphic content of public figures.
"The platform has been enabling the production and distribution of these pictures for a long time without taking any action and we have not witnessed any intervention by oversight bodies," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own usage rules forbids "portraying likenesses of individuals in a pornographic fashion".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "create or distribute non-consensual intimate images or child sexual abuse material" and stated this applied to sexual deepfakes created with AI.
It said platforms such as X were obligated to take "necessary steps" to "lessen the risk" of users encountering unlawful material on their platforms and to remove it promptly when they become aware of it.
