The social media network X has caused major anger after people used its AI chatbot Grok to change photos of women by removing their garments.
Several examples have been seen where the system has been used to digitally undress women to render them in bikinis non-consensually, as well as to insert them in sexualized situations.
Company Reaction and Regulatory Stance
XAI, the company behind Grok, did not respond to questions, other than an standard response stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A Home Office representative stated that legislation is being introduced to outlaw image stripping tools. Under a proposed criminal offence, anyone who distributed such technology would "be subject to a jail term and significant penalties".
"X or Grok could prevent these types of misuse if they desired to," said a law professor, adding they "operate with impunity."
Regulator Position and Platform Functionality
The communications watchdog Ofcom said technology companies must "evaluate the risk" of people viewing unlawful material on their networks, but stopped short of confirming whether it was presently examining X or Grok in concerning AI-generated images.
Grok is a free chatbot—with some additional functions—which reacts to X users' queries when they reference it in a post.
It is often used to give reactions or additional background to other posters' comments, but people on X are also can alter an uploaded photo through its AI image editing feature.
History of Controversy and Policy
The tool has been criticised for enabling users to create images and clips with nudity and sexually suggestive material, and it was previously alleged to have been involved in generating graphic material of public figures.
"X has been allowing the generation and spread of these images for months without taking any action and we have not seen any intervention by oversight bodies," the expert added.
XAI's own usage rules bans "showing likenesses of persons in a sexually explicit way".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was illegal to "create or share private pictures or illegal content" and stated this applied to explicit AI images created with AI.
It said services such as X were mandated to take "necessary steps" to "reduce the risk" of users encountering illegal material on their services and to remove it promptly when they become aware of it.
