Elon Musk's online platform X has sparked major backlash after individuals employed its AI chatbot Grok to alter pictures of women by removing their attire.
Several instances have been seen where the tool has been used to digitally undress female subjects to render them in swimwear without consent, as well as to put them in sexualized scenarios.
Company Response and Regulatory Position
XAI, the organization responsible for Grok, offered no comment to requests for comment, other than an automatically-generated message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A government spokesperson stated that new laws is being introduced to prohibit image stripping software. Under a upcoming law, anyone who distributed such technology would "receive a prison sentence and heavy penalties".
"X or Grok is capable of halting these types of misuse if they wanted to," said a law professor, adding they "appear to enjoy impunity."
Regulator Position and Platform Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said platforms must "consider the risk" of people viewing illegal content on their networks, but did not confirm whether it was currently investigating X or Grok in relation to AI-generated images.
Grok is a free artificial intelligence—with some premium functions—which reacts to X users' queries when they mention it in a message.
It is often used to give commentary or additional context to other users' comments, but people on X are also capable of modify an uploaded picture through its AI image editing function.
Background of Controversy and Rules
The tool has been condemned for permitting users to produce pictures and clips with nudity and sexually suggestive content, and it was in the past accused of generating inappropriate material of public figures.
"X has been permitting the production and spread of these pictures for a long time without taking any steps and we have not witnessed any intervention by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy forbids "portraying likenesses of individuals in a pornographic fashion".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "make or circulate private pictures or illegal content" and stated this included explicit AI images made with AI.
It said services such as X were mandated to take "suitable actions" to "reduce the risk" of users viewing illegal material on their services and to remove it promptly when they learn of it.
