The online network X has caused major backlash after users utilized its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to manipulate pictures of females by removing their clothing.
Numerous instances have emerged where the technology has been employed to remove clothing from female subjects to show them in bikinis non-consensually, as well as to put them in inappropriate scenarios.
Company Reaction and Legal Stance
XAI, the firm that created Grok, did not respond to questions, other than an automatically-generated response stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A Home Office official stated that new laws is being brought forward to ban image stripping tools. Under a new law, anyone who distributed such tools would "receive a jail term and significant penalties".
"The platform is capable of halting these forms of abuse if they desired to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "appear to enjoy a lack of consequences."
Regulator Stance and Tool Capabilities
The communications watchdog Ofcom said technology companies must "evaluate the risk" of people accessing illegal content on their services, but stopped short of confirming whether it was presently examining X or Grok in concerning artificial intelligence images.
Grok is a no-cost chatbot—with some additional functions—which answers X users' requests when they reference it in a post.
It is often used to offer reactions or further context to other users' remarks, but people on X are also able to alter an posted image through its AI image editing function.
Background of Criticism and Policy
The system has been criticised for enabling users to generate images and videos with nudity and sexualised material, and it was in the past alleged to have been involved in generating graphic content of public figures.
"The platform has been permitting the production and spread of these pictures for months without taking any steps and we have yet to see any challenge by oversight bodies," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own terms of service bans "depicting images of individuals in a pornographic manner".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was illegal to "create or share private pictures or child sexual abuse material" and confirmed this included explicit AI images made with AI.
It said platforms such as X were required to take "appropriate measures" to "reduce the risk" of users coming across illegal content on their services and to delete it swiftly when they become aware of it.
