The social media network X has sparked major outrage after individuals used its AI chatbot Grok to alter photos of females by taking off their garments.
Numerous examples have emerged where the tool has been employed to remove clothing from women to render them in swimwear non-consensually, as well as to put them in sexualized scenarios.
Developer Response and Regulatory Position
XAI, the organization that created Grok, remained silent to questions, aside from an standard response stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A government spokesperson stated that legislation is being proposed to outlaw image stripping tools. Under a upcoming criminal offence, anyone who supplied such technology would "face a prison sentence and heavy fines".
"X or Grok could prevent these types of abuse if they chose to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "appear to enjoy a lack of consequences."
Regulator Stance and Platform Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said platforms must "assess the danger" of people accessing unlawful material on their networks, but did not specify whether it was currently looking into X or Grok in concerning AI-generated images.
Grok is a no-cost AI assistant—with some premium features—which answers X users' queries when they reference it in a message.
It is commonly used to offer reactions or further background to other posters' comments, but people on X are also able to alter an posted photo through its artificial intelligence picture modification feature.
Background of Controversy and Rules
The chatbot has been faulted for allowing users to generate images and footage with nudity and sexually suggestive material, and it was earlier alleged to have been involved in making inappropriate material of celebrities.
"X has been allowing the production and spread of these images for months without taking any measures and we have not seen any action by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own terms of service prohibits "depicting likenesses of persons in a pornographic manner".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was against the law to "create or distribute private pictures or illegal content" and clarified this applied to explicit AI images made with AI.
It said platforms such as X were mandated to take "appropriate steps" to "reduce the risk" of users viewing illegal content on their platforms and to remove it quickly when they become aware of it.
