The online platform X has caused significant backlash after users employed its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to change photos of females by removing their garments.
Several instances have emerged where the technology has been used to digitally undress female subjects to render them in swimwear without permission, as well as to insert them in inappropriate scenarios.
Developer Response and Regulatory Stance
XAI, the organization that created Grok, did not respond to inquiries, other than an automatically-generated response stating "legacy media lies".
A Home Office representative stated that new laws is being proposed to outlaw nudification software. Under a upcoming law, anyone who supplied such technology would "face a jail term and substantial fines".
"X or Grok is capable of halting these types of abuse if they chose to," said a law professor, adding they "appear to enjoy impunity."
Regulator Stance and Platform Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "assess the risk" of people seeing illegal content on their platforms, but did not confirm whether it was currently looking into X or Grok in relation to AI-generated images.
Grok is a free chatbot—with some premium features—which answers X users' requests when they tag it in a post.
It is commonly used to provide reactions or additional background to other posters' comments, but people on X are also able to edit an posted photo through its AI image editing function.
History of Controversy and Rules
The tool has been criticised for permitting users to produce images and videos with explicit content and sexually suggestive material, and it was previously accused of creating inappropriate material of public figures.
"The platform has been allowing the generation and distribution of these pictures for months without taking any steps and we have not witnessed any action by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own terms of service bans "portraying likenesses of individuals in a graphic fashion".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was illegal to "generate or share non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and confirmed this covered explicit AI images generated with AI.
It said networks such as X were required to take "appropriate actions" to "minimize the risk" of users coming across unlawful material on their platforms and to delete it promptly when they become aware of it.
