The online platform X has caused significant backlash after people used its AI chatbot Grok to change images of women by removing their garments.
Numerous cases have surfaced where the tool has been employed to digitally undress women to render them in swimwear without consent, as well as to place them in inappropriate contexts.
Developer Reaction and Regulatory Position
XAI, the organization responsible for Grok, offered no comment to questions, aside from an standard message stating "legacy media lies".
A Home Office representative stated that new laws is being proposed to prohibit image stripping technology. Under a upcoming law, anyone who supplied such tools would "face a prison sentence and significant penalties".
"X or Grok has the ability to stop these forms of misuse if they wanted to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "seem to have a lack of consequences."
Regulator Stance and Platform Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said platforms must "consider the danger" of people accessing unlawful material on their networks, but did not confirm whether it was at this time examining X or Grok in concerning AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a free chatbot—with some premium features—which responds to X users' queries when they mention it in a tweet.
It is often used to give reactions or more context to other users' comments, but people on X are also capable of alter an uploaded image through its artificial intelligence picture modification feature.
History of Criticism and Policy
The tool has been criticised for permitting users to produce photos and videos with nudity and sexualised content, and it was earlier alleged to have been involved in making graphic material of celebrities.
"X has been allowing the creation and spread of these images for months without taking any steps and we have not witnessed any intervention by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own terms of service prohibits "showing likenesses of individuals in a sexually explicit way".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was illegal to "make or share private pictures or child sexual abuse material" and confirmed this included explicit AI images generated with AI.
It said networks such as X were required to take "necessary steps" to "reduce the danger" of users encountering unlawful content on their services and to remove it swiftly when they are notified of it.
