The online network X has caused widespread outrage after people used its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to manipulate photos of females by removing their attire.
Numerous instances have emerged where the system has been employed to virtually strip female subjects to show them in bikinis non-consensually, as well as to place them in sexually explicit situations.
Developer Response and Legal Position
XAI, the organization responsible for Grok, offered no comment to requests for comment, other than an automatically-generated message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A Home Office spokesperson stated that legislation is being brought forward to outlaw image stripping software. Under a proposed criminal offence, anyone who distributed such technology would "be subject to a prison sentence and significant fines".
"The platform could prevent these types of abuse if they chose to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "operate with impunity."
Oversight Body Stance and Tool Capabilities
The communications watchdog Ofcom said tech firms must "evaluate the potential" of people seeing unlawful material on their platforms, but did not confirm whether it was at this time looking into X or Grok in concerning AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a free AI assistant—with some premium functions—which responds to X users' prompts when they mention it in a tweet.
It is often used to give commentary or further background to other users' comments, but people on X are also able to alter an posted photo through its AI image editing tool.
Background of Criticism and Rules
The chatbot has been criticised for permitting users to generate images and videos with nudity and sexualised content, and it was previously accused of creating sexually explicit material of public figures.
"X has been enabling the production and distribution of these images for a long time without taking any action and we have not witnessed any challenge by oversight bodies," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy prohibits "portraying likenesses of persons in a sexually explicit fashion".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was illegal to "create or share private pictures or illegal content" and clarified this applied to explicit AI images created with AI.
It said platforms such as X were required to take "necessary measures" to "minimize the risk" of users encountering illegal material on their services and to remove it swiftly when they learn of it.
