The online network X has provoked significant anger after users utilized its AI chatbot Grok to manipulate photos of females by taking off their attire.
Numerous instances have emerged where the technology has been used to virtually strip women to show them in bikinis without consent, as well as to put them in inappropriate scenarios.
Developer Response and Regulatory Position
XAI, the organization that created Grok, did not respond to inquiries, other than an auto-reply message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A government official stated that new laws is being proposed to outlaw image stripping tools. Under a proposed law, anyone who provided such tools would "be subject to a prison sentence and significant fines".
"X or Grok has the ability to stop these types of misuse if they desired to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "operate with impunity."
Regulator Position and Platform Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "evaluate the danger" of people accessing illegal content on their services, but did not specify whether it was presently examining X or Grok in concerning AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a free AI assistant—with some premium features—which reacts to X users' queries when they reference it in a message.
It is commonly used to give reactions or further context to other posters' comments, but people on X are also able to alter an posted image through its artificial intelligence picture modification tool.
History of Criticism and Rules
The tool has been faulted for enabling users to generate photos and clips with nudity and sexually suggestive material, and it was earlier accused of creating inappropriate content of celebrities.
"The platform has been enabling the creation and distribution of these images for a long time without taking any steps and we have yet to see any challenge by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy forbids "portraying likenesses of people in a pornographic fashion".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was illegal to "generate or circulate deepfakes or illegal content" and confirmed this covered sexual deepfakes made with AI.
It said services such as X were mandated to take "appropriate steps" to "lessen the risk" of users coming across unlawful content on their platforms and to take down it quickly when they are notified of it.
