The online platform X has caused major outrage after people employed its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to alter pictures of women by stripping their clothing.
Several instances have been seen where the system has been employed to digitally undress female subjects to make them appear in bikinis without consent, as well as to put them in sexualized situations.
Developer Reaction and Regulatory Position
XAI, the company that created Grok, did not respond to inquiries, except for an automatically-generated response stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A government spokesperson stated that legislation is being proposed to outlaw image stripping technology. Under a proposed law, anyone who provided such technology would "be subject to a jail term and substantial penalties".
"The platform has the ability to stop these forms of abuse if they desired to," said a law professor, adding they "appear to enjoy impunity."
Oversight Body Stance and Tool Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said technology companies must "evaluate the danger" of people accessing illegal content on their services, but did not confirm whether it was currently looking into X or Grok in relation to artificial intelligence images.
Grok is a no-cost artificial intelligence—with some premium features—which answers X users' requests when they reference it in a tweet.
It is often used to offer commentary or more context to other users' remarks, but people on X are also can edit an uploaded picture through its AI image editing function.
Background of Controversy and Policy
The tool has been condemned for enabling users to create images and videos with explicit content and sexually suggestive material, and it was in the past alleged to have been involved in creating graphic content of public figures.
"The platform has been enabling the generation and sharing of these pictures for a long time without taking any measures and we have yet to see any challenge by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy prohibits "portraying images of people in a pornographic manner".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was illegal to "create or share non-consensual intimate images or child sexual abuse material" and confirmed this included sexual deepfakes created with AI.
It said networks such as X were obligated to take "necessary measures" to "minimize the risk" of users encountering illegal material on their services and to take down it promptly when they are notified of it.
