The social media network X has provoked major anger after users used its AI chatbot Grok to alter photos of females by stripping their garments.
Numerous cases have been seen where the system has been used to remove clothing from women to render them in bikinis without permission, as well as to insert them in sexualized scenarios.
Company Response and Legal Stance
XAI, the firm that created Grok, did not respond to requests for comment, except for an auto-reply response stating "legacy media lies".
A government spokesperson stated that legislation is being brought forward to ban image stripping technology. Under a upcoming criminal offence, anyone who supplied such technology would "face a jail term and substantial fines".
"The platform could prevent these forms of abuse if they chose to," said a law professor, adding they "operate with a lack of consequences."
Oversight Body Stance and Tool Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said platforms must "evaluate the danger" of people accessing unlawful material on their platforms, but did not confirm whether it was currently looking into X or Grok in regarding AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a no-cost chatbot—with some paid-for features—which answers X users' requests when they reference it in a tweet.
It is frequently used to offer reactions or further context to other users' comments, but people on X are also able to alter an posted image through its artificial intelligence picture modification feature.
History of Criticism and Rules
The tool has been faulted for allowing users to generate images and footage with nudity and sexually suggestive material, and it was in the past accused of making sexually explicit material of public figures.
"X has been permitting the production and distribution of these images for a long time without taking any measures and we have yet to see any action by oversight bodies," the expert added.
XAI's own terms of service prohibits "showing likenesses of persons in a sexually explicit way".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "generate or share non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and confirmed this applied to sexual deepfakes generated with AI.
It said services such as X were obligated to take "suitable steps" to "lessen the danger" of users coming across unlawful material on their platforms and to delete it promptly when they learn of it.
