The social media network X has caused significant outrage after people used its AI chatbot Grok to change photos of women by taking off their clothing.
Several examples have emerged where the system has been used to remove clothing from women to make them appear in bikinis without permission, as well as to put them in sexually explicit situations.
Developer Response and Regulatory Stance
XAI, the organization that created Grok, did not respond to inquiries, except for an auto-reply message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A government spokesperson stated that legislation is being proposed to outlaw nudification software. Under a upcoming law, anyone who provided such tools would "be subject to a prison sentence and heavy fines".
"The platform has the ability to stop these forms of misuse if they wanted to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "appear to enjoy impunity."
Oversight Body Stance and Platform Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said platforms must "consider the danger" of people viewing illegal content on their networks, but did not confirm whether it was presently looking into X or Grok in concerning AI-generated images.
Grok is a no-cost chatbot—with some additional features—which reacts to X users' prompts when they reference it in a post.
It is frequently used to offer commentary or more context to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also capable of edit an posted image through its artificial intelligence picture modification tool.
Background of Criticism and Rules
The chatbot has been criticised for enabling users to create photos and videos with nudity and sexualised material, and it was in the past alleged to have been involved in creating sexually explicit content of celebrities.
"X has been allowing the creation and spread of these pictures for a long time without taking any steps and we have yet to see any challenge by oversight bodies," the expert added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy prohibits "showing images of people in a graphic manner".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was illegal to "create or circulate non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and stated this included explicit AI images generated with AI.
It said platforms such as X were mandated to take "appropriate actions" to "minimize the risk" of users encountering unlawful material on their services and to take down it promptly when they are notified of it.
