Elon Musk's social media network X has caused major anger after users employed its AI chatbot Grok to change images of females by stripping their clothing.
Numerous instances have been seen where the tool has been used to virtually strip female subjects to render them in swimwear without consent, as well as to insert them in sexually explicit scenarios.
Developer Response and Legal Stance
XAI, the organization behind Grok, remained silent to inquiries, other than an standard message stating "legacy media lies".
A Home Office representative stated that new laws is being introduced to outlaw image stripping technology. Under a new criminal offence, anyone who distributed such tools would "receive a prison sentence and substantial fines".
"X or Grok has the ability to stop these forms of misuse if they desired to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "operate with impunity."
Oversight Body Stance and Tool Functionality
The communications watchdog Ofcom said technology companies must "evaluate the risk" of people accessing unlawful material on their platforms, but did not specify whether it was currently examining X or Grok in concerning artificial intelligence images.
Grok is a no-cost chatbot—with some premium functions—which responds to X users' requests when they tag it in a tweet.
It is frequently used to give commentary or further context to other users' comments, but people on X are also can alter an posted picture through its artificial intelligence picture modification tool.
Background of Controversy and Policy
The tool has been criticised for allowing users to produce images and clips with nudity and sexualised material, and it was earlier accused of making graphic content of celebrities.
"X has been enabling the generation and spread of these pictures for a long time without taking any action and we have not witnessed any action by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own usage rules bans "showing likenesses of individuals in a pornographic fashion".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was against the law to "make or circulate non-consensual intimate images or child sexual abuse material" and confirmed this included sexual deepfakes made with AI.
It said platforms such as X were mandated to take "suitable steps" to "lessen the danger" of users coming across unlawful content on their platforms and to remove it swiftly when they are notified of it.
