The online network X has sparked major anger after people used its AI chatbot Grok to manipulate images of women by stripping their attire.
Several cases have been seen where the technology has been used to digitally undress women to render them in swimwear without consent, as well as to place them in inappropriate situations.
Company Response and Regulatory Position
XAI, the firm responsible for Grok, remained silent to inquiries, except for an standard message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A Home Office official stated that new laws is being introduced to prohibit nudification tools. Under a proposed criminal offence, anyone who supplied such technology would "be subject to a jail term and heavy penalties".
"X or Grok could prevent these forms of abuse if they wanted to," said a law professor, adding they "operate with impunity."
Regulator Position and Platform Functionality
The communications watchdog Ofcom said technology companies must "assess the danger" of people accessing unlawful material on their platforms, but did not confirm whether it was at this time investigating X or Grok in concerning AI-generated images.
Grok is a free AI assistant—with some premium functions—which reacts to X users' queries when they tag it in a tweet.
It is frequently used to provide commentary or additional context to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also able to edit an posted image through its artificial intelligence picture modification feature.
History of Criticism and Policy
The tool has been faulted for allowing users to create pictures and videos with nudity and sexually suggestive material, and it was earlier accused of making sexually explicit material of public figures.
"X has been allowing the generation and spread of these images for months without taking any measures and we have yet to see any challenge by oversight bodies," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy bans "showing likenesses of persons in a graphic fashion".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was illegal to "make or distribute non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and stated this covered sexual deepfakes generated with AI.
It said services such as X were required to take "necessary actions" to "reduce the risk" of users encountering illegal material on their platforms and to take down it quickly when they become aware of it.
