Elon Musk's online platform X has provoked widespread backlash after users employed its AI chatbot Grok to manipulate images of women by stripping their garments.
Several cases have been seen where the tool has been used to virtually strip women to show them in bikinis without consent, as well as to put them in sexually explicit scenarios.
Company Reaction and Legal Stance
XAI, the firm that created Grok, did not respond to inquiries, other than an standard message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A government official stated that legislation is being brought forward to prohibit image stripping technology. Under a upcoming criminal offence, anyone who supplied such technology would "face a prison sentence and significant fines".
"X or Grok could prevent these types 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 technology companies must "consider the danger" of people viewing unlawful material on their services, but did not confirm whether it was currently investigating X or Grok in concerning AI-generated images.
Grok is a no-cost artificial intelligence—with some premium features—which reacts to X users' prompts when they mention it in a tweet.
It is frequently used to offer commentary or further context to other posters' comments, but people on X are also capable of alter an posted picture through its AI image editing feature.
Background of Criticism and Rules
The tool has been criticised for enabling users to create photos and clips with explicit content and sexualised content, and it was in the past alleged to have been involved in making graphic content of public figures.
"The platform has been enabling the generation and distribution of these images for months without taking any steps and we have not seen any action by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy prohibits "showing images of persons in a graphic fashion".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was illegal to "make or share non-consensual intimate images or child sexual abuse material" and clarified this covered sexual deepfakes generated with AI.
It said platforms such as X were required to take "appropriate steps" to "minimize the danger" of users viewing unlawful content on their platforms and to take down it swiftly when they are notified of it.
