The online network X has provoked major anger after individuals used its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to manipulate photos of females by removing their attire.
Multiple cases have been seen where the technology has been used to digitally undress female subjects to show them in bikinis non-consensually, as well as to place them in sexually explicit situations.
Developer Response and Legal Stance
XAI, the organization responsible for Grok, offered no comment to questions, except for an automatically-generated message stating "legacy media lies".
A government representative stated that legislation is being brought forward to outlaw image stripping software. Under a upcoming law, anyone who provided such technology would "face a prison sentence and substantial fines".
"X or Grok could prevent these forms of misuse if they chose to," said a law professor, adding they "operate with a lack of consequences."
Oversight Body Stance and Tool Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said platforms must "evaluate the danger" of people seeing illegal content on their platforms, but stopped short of confirming whether it was presently looking into X or Grok in relation to artificial intelligence images.
Grok is a free AI assistant—with some premium features—which responds to X users' requests when they mention it in a message.
It is commonly used to offer commentary or additional background to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also capable of alter an posted photo through its artificial intelligence picture modification function.
Background of Controversy and Rules
The tool has been faulted for enabling users to generate photos and videos with explicit content and sexually suggestive content, and it was earlier accused of making inappropriate material of celebrities.
"X has been allowing the generation and distribution of these images for a long time without taking any measures and we have not witnessed any challenge by oversight bodies," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own usage rules bans "depicting images of persons in a graphic manner".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "generate or circulate private pictures or illegal content" and stated this included sexual deepfakes generated with AI.
It said services such as X were mandated to take "suitable actions" to "lessen the danger" of users viewing illegal content on their platforms and to delete it quickly when they are notified of it.
