The social media network X has caused major backlash after individuals utilized its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to alter images of women by removing their attire.
Numerous instances have emerged where the tool has been used to remove clothing from female subjects to render them in swimwear without permission, as well as to put them in inappropriate situations.
Developer Response and Regulatory Position
XAI, the company responsible for Grok, offered no comment to requests for comment, other than an auto-reply response stating "legacy media lies".
A government spokesperson stated that legislation is being introduced to prohibit image stripping software. Under a new criminal offence, anyone who supplied such technology would "face a jail term and significant penalties".
"The platform could prevent these types of misuse if they chose to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "seem to have impunity."
Regulator Stance and Tool Capabilities
The communications watchdog Ofcom said platforms must "assess the risk" of people viewing illegal content on their networks, but did not confirm whether it was at this time examining X or Grok in concerning artificial intelligence images.
Grok is a free chatbot—with some premium features—which responds to X users' prompts when they tag it in a tweet.
It is frequently used to offer reactions or additional background to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also can edit an posted image through its AI image editing function.
History of Controversy and Policy
The tool has been criticised for allowing users to generate photos and videos with explicit content and sexually suggestive material, and it was earlier accused of making graphic content of celebrities.
"X has been allowing the generation and distribution of these images for a long time without taking any measures and we have yet to see any intervention by oversight bodies," the expert added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy prohibits "portraying likenesses of individuals in a graphic way".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was illegal to "create or distribute deepfakes or child sexual abuse material" and clarified this covered explicit AI images generated with AI.
It said services such as X were required to take "suitable steps" to "reduce the risk" of users viewing illegal material on their services and to remove it quickly when they become aware of it.
