The online network X has provoked significant backlash after individuals employed its AI chatbot Grok to change photos of women by removing their clothing.
Multiple examples have emerged where the technology has been used to digitally undress women to make them appear in bikinis without permission, as well as to place them in sexually explicit scenarios.
Company Reaction and Legal Position
XAI, the firm behind Grok, did not respond to inquiries, other than an standard message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A Home Office spokesperson stated that legislation is being proposed to outlaw nudification software. Under a upcoming law, anyone who provided such tools would "face a prison sentence and significant fines".
"X or Grok has the ability to stop these types of abuse if they desired to," said a law professor, adding they "operate with impunity."
Oversight Body Stance and Tool Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "assess the danger" of people viewing illegal content on their platforms, but did not confirm whether it was presently examining X or Grok in relation to AI-generated images.
Grok is a free chatbot—with some paid-for features—which reacts to X users' requests when they tag it in a post.
It is frequently used to offer reactions or additional background to other posters' comments, but people on X are also able to alter an uploaded photo through its artificial intelligence picture modification tool.
Background of Controversy and Rules
The chatbot has been condemned for allowing users to generate images and footage with nudity and sexualised material, and it was previously accused of creating sexually explicit material of public figures.
"X has been enabling the creation and sharing of these pictures for a long time without taking any steps and we have not seen any action by oversight bodies," the expert added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy prohibits "depicting likenesses of individuals in a sexually explicit fashion".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was illegal to "generate or circulate deepfakes or child sexual abuse material" and stated this included explicit AI images made with AI.
It said services such as X were obligated to take "appropriate actions" to "minimize the risk" of users coming across unlawful material on their services and to delete it quickly when they become aware of it.
