Elon Musk's online network X has caused widespread outrage after users employed its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to manipulate images of females by removing their garments.
Numerous cases have emerged where the technology has been employed to virtually strip women to show them in bikinis without permission, as well as to place them in sexualized scenarios.
Developer Response and Regulatory Stance
XAI, the company responsible for Grok, did not respond to questions, aside from an auto-reply message stating "legacy media lies".
A Home Office representative stated that legislation is being proposed to outlaw image stripping tools. Under a upcoming law, anyone who supplied such technology would "face a prison sentence and substantial fines".
"X or Grok has the ability to stop these forms of misuse if they chose to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "appear to enjoy impunity."
Oversight Body Stance and Tool Functionality
The communications watchdog Ofcom said platforms must "consider the risk" of people viewing illegal content on their services, but stopped short of confirming whether it was currently looking into X or Grok in regarding AI-generated images.
Grok is a no-cost chatbot—with some additional functions—which answers X users' queries when they reference it in a post.
It is often used to give reactions or additional context to other users' comments, but people on X are also capable of alter an uploaded picture through its artificial intelligence picture modification tool.
History of Controversy and Policy
The chatbot has been condemned for allowing users to create photos and videos with nudity and sexually suggestive content, and it was earlier accused of generating inappropriate content of public figures.
"X has been enabling the generation and spread of these pictures for months without taking any steps and we have yet to see any action by oversight bodies," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own usage rules bans "depicting images of persons in a graphic manner".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was against the law to "make or share non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and confirmed this covered sexual deepfakes generated with AI.
It said services such as X were mandated to take "appropriate actions" to "lessen the risk" of users viewing illegal content on their services and to take down it swiftly when they learn of it.
