The social media network X has provoked widespread outrage after individuals utilized its AI chatbot Grok to alter photos of females by removing their garments.
Numerous instances have surfaced where the system has been employed to remove clothing from women to render them in swimwear non-consensually, as well as to put them in sexually explicit situations.
Developer Response and Legal Position
XAI, the firm that created Grok, did not respond to requests for comment, other than an auto-reply message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A Home Office official stated that new laws is being proposed to outlaw image stripping technology. Under a new law, anyone who distributed such technology would "be subject to a jail term and significant penalties".
"X or Grok has the ability to stop these forms of abuse if they chose to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "operate with a lack of consequences."
Regulator Position and Platform Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said platforms must "assess the potential" of people accessing illegal content on their networks, but stopped short of confirming whether it was at this time examining X or Grok in relation to AI-generated images.
Grok is a no-cost artificial intelligence—with some paid-for features—which responds to X users' queries when they tag it in a post.
It is frequently used to give commentary or more context to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also able to alter an posted photo through its artificial intelligence picture modification function.
Background of Criticism and Policy
The tool has been criticised for enabling users to create photos and videos with nudity and sexually suggestive material, and it was earlier accused of creating sexually explicit material of celebrities.
"X has been permitting the creation and spread of these images for months without taking any measures and we have not seen any challenge by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own usage rules forbids "portraying likenesses of persons in a sexually explicit manner".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "make or share 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 obligated to take "appropriate actions" to "minimize the risk" of users coming across unlawful content on their platforms and to remove it swiftly when they learn of it.
