The online network X has caused significant outrage after users utilized its AI chatbot Grok to alter images of females by stripping their clothing.
Numerous examples have been seen where the technology has been employed to remove clothing from women to make them appear in swimwear non-consensually, as well as to put them in inappropriate scenarios.
Developer Response and Legal Position
XAI, the company behind Grok, remained silent to inquiries, aside from an standard response stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A Home Office representative stated that legislation is being introduced to outlaw image stripping software. Under a upcoming law, anyone who distributed such technology would "face a jail term and heavy fines".
"X or Grok is capable of halting these forms of misuse if they wanted to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "seem to have impunity."
Regulator Position and Platform Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "consider the risk" of people accessing unlawful material on their services, but stopped short of confirming whether it was at this time examining X or Grok in concerning artificial intelligence images.
Grok is a no-cost chatbot—with some additional features—which answers X users' requests when they mention it in a post.
It is commonly used to offer commentary or additional background to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also able to modify an posted photo through its artificial intelligence picture modification tool.
Background of Controversy and Rules
The tool has been faulted for allowing users to create photos and videos with nudity and sexually suggestive material, and it was previously accused of creating sexually explicit content of celebrities.
"X has been permitting the production and sharing of these pictures for months without taking any steps and we have yet to see any challenge by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own terms of service bans "portraying likenesses of individuals in a sexually explicit manner".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was against the law to "generate or circulate private pictures or illegal content" and confirmed this applied to explicit AI images made with AI.
It said services such as X were mandated to take "appropriate measures" to "reduce the risk" of users coming across illegal content on their platforms and to remove it swiftly when they are notified of it.
