Elon Musk's online network X has sparked major backlash after users utilized its AI chatbot Grok to alter pictures of females by stripping their clothing.
Multiple cases have surfaced where the tool has been used to virtually strip female subjects to show them in bikinis without permission, as well as to place them in inappropriate situations.
Developer Reaction and Legal Position
XAI, the company responsible for Grok, remained silent to questions, other than an auto-reply message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A government spokesperson stated that legislation is being introduced to outlaw image stripping tools. Under a proposed law, anyone who supplied such technology would "be subject to a prison sentence and substantial fines".
"X or Grok could prevent these forms of abuse if they chose to," said a law professor, adding they "operate with impunity."
Oversight Body Position and Platform Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said technology companies must "consider the potential" of people seeing illegal content on their services, but stopped short of confirming whether it was currently looking into X or Grok in regarding artificial intelligence pictures.
Grok is a no-cost AI assistant—with some additional functions—which reacts to X users' queries when they tag it in a tweet.
It is often used to offer reactions or more context to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also capable of modify an uploaded picture through its artificial intelligence picture modification feature.
Background of Controversy and Policy
The system has been condemned for permitting users to create pictures and footage with nudity and sexualised content, and it was earlier accused of generating sexually explicit content of public figures.
"The platform has been permitting the production and sharing of these pictures for a long time without taking any measures and we have not witnessed any intervention by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy forbids "depicting likenesses of individuals in a graphic way".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was illegal to "make or circulate deepfakes or illegal content" and confirmed this covered sexual deepfakes created with AI.
It said platforms such as X were required to take "suitable steps" to "reduce the danger" of users viewing illegal material on their platforms and to remove it promptly when they become aware of it.
