The social media platform X has caused widespread backlash after people utilized its AI chatbot Grok to alter images of females by removing their garments.
Several cases have emerged where the tool has been employed to virtually strip female subjects to render them in swimwear without consent, as well as to put them in inappropriate scenarios.
Developer Reaction and Regulatory Position
XAI, the firm responsible for Grok, did not respond to questions, other than an standard message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A government official stated that new laws is being introduced to outlaw nudification software. Under a proposed law, anyone who supplied such technology would "be subject to a jail term 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 Position and Platform Capabilities
The communications watchdog Ofcom said technology companies must "evaluate the danger" of people viewing illegal content on their networks, but stopped short of confirming whether it was presently examining X or Grok in relation to AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a no-cost artificial intelligence—with some premium features—which reacts to X users' requests when they mention it in a post.
It is frequently used to provide commentary or additional context to other users' remarks, but people on X are also able to alter an uploaded photo through its AI image editing function.
History of Criticism and Policy
The tool has been criticised for allowing users to create photos and footage with explicit content and sexually suggestive content, and it was earlier alleged to have been involved in generating sexually explicit material of celebrities.
"X has been permitting the creation and spread of these images for a long time without taking any action and we have yet to see any action by oversight bodies," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy prohibits "depicting likenesses of people in a graphic manner".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was illegal to "create or circulate non-consensual intimate images or child sexual abuse material" and clarified this applied to explicit AI images generated with AI.
It said services such as X were required to take "suitable steps" to "reduce the risk" of users coming across unlawful material on their platforms and to remove it swiftly when they are notified of it.
