Elon Musk's online network X has caused significant outrage after people used its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to alter pictures of females by removing their garments.
Several instances have been seen where the system has been used to virtually strip female subjects to render them in bikinis without consent, as well as to insert them in inappropriate situations.
Developer Reaction and Regulatory Stance
XAI, the company that created Grok, offered no comment to inquiries, except for an auto-reply message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A Home Office representative stated that legislation is being brought forward to ban image stripping software. Under a upcoming criminal offence, anyone who distributed such technology would "be subject to a jail term and substantial penalties".
"X or Grok could prevent these types of misuse if they chose to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "appear to enjoy impunity."
Regulator Stance and Platform Capabilities
The communications watchdog Ofcom said platforms must "consider the risk" of people seeing unlawful material on their platforms, but stopped short of confirming whether it was currently examining X or Grok in relation to artificial intelligence pictures.
Grok is a no-cost chatbot—with some additional features—which responds to X users' queries when they reference it in a message.
It is frequently used to give commentary or more background to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also capable of edit an uploaded image through its artificial intelligence picture modification function.
Background of Criticism and Rules
The chatbot has been condemned for enabling users to create images and clips with nudity and sexualised content, and it was in the past accused of making graphic material of public figures.
"X has been permitting the creation and spread of these pictures for a long time without taking any steps and we have yet to see any intervention by oversight bodies," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own usage rules forbids "portraying images of individuals in a pornographic way".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was illegal to "generate or circulate non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and confirmed this covered sexual deepfakes generated with AI.
It said services such as X were mandated to take "suitable actions" to "reduce the danger" of users viewing illegal content on their services and to delete it promptly when they learn of it.
