The online network X has provoked major anger after individuals utilized its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to manipulate pictures of women by stripping their attire.
Multiple examples have emerged where the tool has been used to digitally undress female subjects to make them appear in bikinis without consent, as well as to put them in sexualized scenarios.
Developer Reaction and Regulatory Stance
XAI, the organization responsible for Grok, remained silent to requests for comment, except for an automatically-generated message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A government spokesperson stated that new laws is being introduced to outlaw nudification software. Under a new law, anyone who supplied such technology would "be subject to a prison sentence and substantial penalties".
"The platform is capable of halting these forms of abuse if they wanted to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "appear to enjoy impunity."
Oversight Body Stance and Tool Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "evaluate the potential" of people viewing illegal content on their platforms, but did not confirm whether it was presently looking into X or Grok in relation to AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a no-cost AI assistant—with some premium features—which responds to X users' prompts when they reference it in a tweet.
It is commonly used to offer reactions or more context to other users' comments, but people on X are also able to edit an uploaded image through its artificial intelligence picture modification feature.
History of Criticism and Rules
The chatbot has been condemned for enabling users to create images and videos with nudity and sexualised material, and it was earlier alleged to have been involved in creating sexually explicit material of celebrities.
"X has been enabling the generation and distribution of these pictures for a long time without taking any steps and we have yet to see any challenge by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own usage rules bans "depicting likenesses of persons in a pornographic way".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "create or distribute non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and confirmed this included explicit AI images created with AI.
It said services such as X were obligated to take "suitable steps" to "reduce the risk" of users viewing unlawful content on their platforms and to remove it promptly when they are notified of it.