The online platform X has sparked significant anger after users employed its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to change pictures of females by removing their clothing.
Multiple cases have emerged where the system has been used to virtually strip women to render them in swimwear without consent, as well as to put them in sexually explicit contexts.
Developer Response and Regulatory Position
XAI, the firm responsible for Grok, did not respond to inquiries, except for an automatically-generated message stating "legacy media lies".
A Home Office representative stated that new laws is being introduced to prohibit nudification technology. Under a new criminal offence, anyone who distributed such technology would "face a jail term and heavy fines".
"X or Grok could prevent these types of abuse if they desired to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "operate with a lack of consequences."
Oversight Body Stance and Tool Capabilities
The communications watchdog Ofcom said platforms must "evaluate the risk" of people viewing unlawful material on their networks, but did not confirm whether it was currently examining X or Grok in regarding artificial intelligence images.
Grok is a no-cost artificial intelligence—with some paid-for features—which responds to X users' queries when they mention it in a message.
It is frequently used to offer commentary or more background to other posters' comments, but people on X are also able to alter an posted image through its artificial intelligence picture modification function.
Background of Controversy and Rules
The chatbot has been condemned for allowing users to create pictures and clips with explicit content and sexualised material, and it was previously alleged to have been involved in creating graphic material of public figures.
"X has been enabling the production and distribution of these pictures for months without taking any action and we have not witnessed any action by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own terms of service bans "showing images of individuals in a sexually explicit manner".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was against the law to "make or distribute non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and stated this included sexual deepfakes created with AI.
It said networks such as X were mandated to take "appropriate steps" to "reduce the danger" of users encountering unlawful content on their services and to take down it swiftly when they become aware of it.
