The social media platform X has provoked significant outrage after users used its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to change images of females by removing their garments.
Multiple cases have emerged where the tool has been used to virtually strip female subjects to make them appear in bikinis without consent, as well as to insert them in sexualized scenarios.
Developer Reaction and Regulatory Stance
XAI, the company that created Grok, remained silent to inquiries, except for an auto-reply message stating "legacy media lies".
A Home Office official stated that legislation is being brought forward to outlaw image stripping tools. Under a upcoming criminal offence, anyone who provided such technology would "be subject to a prison sentence and substantial penalties".
"The platform has the ability to stop these types of abuse if they wanted to," said a law professor, adding they "seem to have impunity."
Regulator Stance and Platform Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said platforms must "assess the potential" of people accessing illegal content on their networks, but did not confirm whether it was currently looking into X or Grok in regarding AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a free chatbot—with some paid-for features—which answers X users' queries when they tag it in a message.
It is commonly used to offer reactions or further background to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also can edit an posted picture through its artificial intelligence picture modification function.
Background of Criticism and Rules
The system has been faulted for permitting users to generate photos and clips with explicit content and sexually suggestive content, and it was previously alleged to have been involved in generating graphic material of celebrities.
"The platform has been permitting the generation and spread of these pictures for a long time without taking any measures and we have not witnessed any intervention by oversight bodies," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy prohibits "depicting likenesses of individuals in a pornographic fashion".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "create or share non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and stated this included sexual deepfakes made with AI.
It said networks such as X were obligated to take "appropriate steps" to "lessen the risk" of users encountering unlawful content on their services and to delete it quickly when they learn of it.
