Elon Musk's online platform X has provoked major backlash after individuals utilized its AI chatbot Grok to change images of females by stripping their garments.
Numerous cases have surfaced where the system has been used to virtually strip women to make them appear in swimwear without permission, as well as to put them in sexualized situations.
Developer Response and Legal Position
XAI, the company responsible for Grok, offered no comment to questions, other than an standard message stating "legacy media lies".
A government representative stated that legislation is being brought forward to outlaw image stripping tools. Under a proposed law, anyone who supplied such technology would "receive a prison sentence and substantial fines".
"The platform could prevent these types of abuse if they desired to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "appear to enjoy impunity."
Regulator Stance and Tool Functionality
The communications watchdog Ofcom said platforms must "evaluate the danger" of people viewing unlawful material on their platforms, but stopped short of confirming whether it was at this time examining X or Grok in regarding AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a no-cost chatbot—with some paid-for functions—which responds to X users' prompts when they tag it in a tweet.
It is often used to offer reactions or more background to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also able to alter an uploaded picture through its artificial intelligence picture modification function.
History of Criticism and Rules
The tool has been faulted for permitting users to create images and videos with nudity and sexually suggestive content, and it was earlier alleged to have been involved in making graphic material of celebrities.
"The platform has been permitting the creation and distribution of these images for a long time without taking any steps and we have not seen any intervention by oversight bodies," the expert added.
XAI's own usage rules bans "showing likenesses of individuals in a pornographic way".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was illegal to "create or share private pictures or child sexual abuse material" and stated this applied to sexual deepfakes created with AI.
It said services such as X were obligated to take "necessary steps" to "reduce the risk" of users viewing illegal material on their services and to remove it swiftly when they are notified of it.
