The online network X has sparked significant outrage after individuals utilized its AI chatbot Grok to change images of women by taking off their attire.
Numerous instances have been seen where the technology has been used to remove clothing from female subjects to make them appear in swimwear without consent, as well as to put them in inappropriate scenarios.
Company Response and Legal Position
XAI, the company that created Grok, offered no comment to inquiries, aside from an automatically-generated message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A Home Office spokesperson stated that new laws is being introduced to outlaw nudification software. Under a proposed law, anyone who provided such technology would "face a jail term and substantial fines".
"X or Grok has the ability to stop these forms of abuse if they desired to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "appear to enjoy a lack of consequences."
Oversight Body Position and Tool Functionality
The communications watchdog Ofcom said tech firms must "assess the risk" of people accessing unlawful material on their services, but did not confirm whether it was currently examining X or Grok in regarding artificial intelligence pictures.
Grok is a free AI assistant—with some paid-for features—which responds to X users' requests when they reference it in a tweet.
It is often used to provide commentary or more background to other posters' comments, but people on X are also able to modify an uploaded photo through its artificial intelligence picture modification function.
Background of Criticism and Policy
The tool has been condemned for allowing users to produce images and footage with explicit content and sexually suggestive material, and it was in the past accused of creating inappropriate content of public figures.
"The platform has been allowing the creation and spread of these pictures for months without taking any measures and we have yet to see any challenge by oversight bodies," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own usage rules bans "showing likenesses of people in a graphic fashion".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was illegal to "generate or circulate private pictures or illegal content" and clarified this applied to explicit AI images made with AI.
It said platforms such as X were obligated to take "necessary steps" to "minimize the risk" of users coming across unlawful material on their services and to delete it quickly when they learn of it.
