Elon Musk's online network X has caused major backlash after people used its AI chatbot Grok to alter images of women by stripping their garments.
Numerous instances have been seen where the system has been used to digitally undress female subjects to make them appear in bikinis non-consensually, as well as to place them in sexually explicit scenarios.
Developer Reaction and Regulatory Stance
XAI, the firm behind Grok, offered no comment to inquiries, except for an automatically-generated response stating "legacy media lies".
A government spokesperson stated that new laws is being brought forward to ban nudification software. Under a proposed criminal offence, anyone who distributed such tools would "receive a prison sentence and substantial fines".
"X or Grok could prevent these forms of abuse if they wanted to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "seem to have a lack of consequences."
Oversight Body Stance and Platform Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said platforms must "assess the risk" of people accessing unlawful material on their services, but did not specify whether it was currently investigating X or Grok in concerning artificial intelligence images.
Grok is a no-cost AI assistant—with some paid-for functions—which responds to X users' requests when they reference it in a tweet.
It is frequently used to provide commentary or additional background to other users' remarks, but people on X are also capable of alter an uploaded picture through its artificial intelligence picture modification feature.
History of Criticism and Rules
The system has been criticised for enabling users to create pictures and videos with nudity and sexually suggestive material, and it was earlier accused of creating inappropriate content of public figures.
"X has been enabling the generation and sharing of these images for months without taking any measures and we have not seen any action by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own terms of service forbids "showing likenesses of persons in a graphic manner".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "generate or distribute non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and stated this applied to sexual deepfakes generated with AI.
It said networks such as X were mandated to take "suitable steps" to "lessen the danger" of users encountering illegal content on their platforms and to delete it swiftly when they learn of it.
