The online network X has provoked significant backlash after people utilized its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to alter pictures of females by removing their clothing.
Numerous examples have surfaced where the technology has been used to digitally undress female subjects to make them appear in swimwear without permission, as well as to put them in inappropriate scenarios.
Developer Reaction and Legal Position
XAI, the company that created Grok, offered no comment to requests for comment, except for an auto-reply message stating "legacy media lies".
A government spokesperson stated that new laws is being brought forward to outlaw nudification tools. Under a proposed criminal offence, anyone who provided such tools would "receive a prison sentence and heavy fines".
"X or Grok has the ability to stop these types of misuse if they wanted to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "seem to have a lack of consequences."
Regulator Position and Tool Capabilities
The communications watchdog Ofcom said technology companies must "consider the danger" of people viewing illegal content on their networks, but did not specify whether it was presently investigating X or Grok in concerning artificial intelligence images.
Grok is a free chatbot—with some additional functions—which responds to X users' queries when they tag it in a post.
It is commonly used to offer commentary or more background to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also capable of alter an uploaded picture through its AI image editing function.
Background of Controversy and Rules
The system has been criticised for enabling users to generate images and videos with explicit content and sexually suggestive material, and it was earlier alleged to have been involved in generating graphic content of celebrities.
"The platform has been enabling the generation and spread of these pictures for months without taking any steps and we have not seen any intervention by oversight bodies," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own usage rules prohibits "portraying likenesses of individuals in a sexually explicit fashion".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "generate or distribute deepfakes or child sexual abuse material" and clarified this applied to sexual deepfakes made with AI.
It said platforms such as X were obligated to take "appropriate steps" to "reduce the danger" of users encountering unlawful content on their services and to remove it quickly when they learn of it.
