Elon Musk's social media platform X has caused major outrage after users utilized its AI chatbot Grok to change images of women by removing their attire.
Numerous examples have surfaced where the tool has been used to digitally undress female subjects to render them in bikinis without permission, as well as to place them in inappropriate situations.
Developer Reaction and Legal Stance
XAI, the organization responsible for Grok, remained silent to requests for comment, except for an auto-reply response stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A government representative stated that new laws is being brought forward to prohibit nudification software. Under a upcoming law, anyone who provided such technology would "receive a prison sentence and significant penalties".
"X or Grok could prevent these types of abuse if they desired to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "appear to enjoy impunity."
Oversight Body Position and Platform Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said platforms must "evaluate the danger" of people seeing unlawful material on their platforms, but did not confirm whether it was currently examining X or Grok in concerning AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a free chatbot—with some paid-for features—which responds to X users' queries when they reference it in a message.
It is often used to give reactions or further background to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also able to alter an posted photo through its AI image editing function.
Background of Controversy and Rules
The system has been condemned for allowing users to create pictures and footage with nudity and sexually suggestive content, and it was in the past alleged to have been involved in creating graphic content of celebrities.
"The platform has been allowing the generation and distribution of these pictures for a long time without taking any steps and we have not seen any challenge by oversight bodies," the expert added.
XAI's own terms of service prohibits "showing images of people in a graphic fashion".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was against the law to "generate or share private pictures or child sexual abuse material" and stated this included sexual deepfakes created with AI.
It said networks such as X were obligated to take "suitable measures" to "reduce the danger" of users coming across illegal content on their platforms and to delete it promptly when they are notified of it.
