The social media network X has sparked significant outrage after people utilized its AI chatbot Grok to manipulate images of women by taking off their attire.
Numerous cases have emerged where the technology has been employed to digitally undress female subjects to show them in bikinis without permission, as well as to place them in sexually explicit situations.
Developer Response and Legal Stance
XAI, the organization responsible for Grok, did not respond to requests for comment, except for an automatically-generated response stating "legacy media lies".
A Home Office official stated that new laws is being proposed to ban nudification software. Under a upcoming law, anyone who provided such tools would "face a prison sentence and substantial fines".
"The platform 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 Tool Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "evaluate the potential" of people accessing illegal content on their services, but did not confirm whether it was presently examining X or Grok in concerning artificial intelligence pictures.
Grok is a no-cost chatbot—with some premium features—which answers X users' queries when they mention it in a post.
It is often used to offer reactions or additional background to other users' comments, but people on X are also can alter an posted photo through its AI image editing feature.
History of Criticism and Policy
The chatbot has been criticised for permitting users to create images and footage with nudity and sexually suggestive material, and it was earlier alleged to have been involved in making sexually explicit material of public figures.
"X has been permitting the generation and spread of these pictures for a long time without taking any measures and we have yet to see any challenge by oversight bodies," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy forbids "portraying images of people in a graphic manner".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was illegal to "create or share deepfakes or child sexual abuse material" and confirmed this included sexual deepfakes created with AI.
It said platforms such as X were mandated to take "appropriate steps" to "reduce the danger" of users coming across illegal content on their services and to remove it promptly when they become aware of it.
