Elon Musk's online network X has provoked widespread backlash after individuals utilized its AI chatbot Grok to manipulate photos of females by taking off their garments.
Numerous cases have surfaced where the tool has been employed to digitally undress female subjects to make them appear in bikinis without consent, as well as to place them in inappropriate situations.
Company Reaction and Legal Position
XAI, the organization that created Grok, remained silent to questions, except for an auto-reply response stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A government official stated that new laws is being proposed to prohibit image stripping technology. Under a proposed law, anyone who distributed such technology would "be subject to a prison sentence and significant fines".
"X or Grok has the ability to stop these types of misuse if they wanted to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "seem to have a lack of consequences."
Regulator Stance and Platform Functionality
The communications watchdog Ofcom said platforms must "evaluate the risk" of people accessing illegal content on their networks, but stopped short of confirming whether it was currently examining X or Grok in concerning AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a no-cost chatbot—with some premium functions—which answers X users' queries when they tag it in a message.
It is commonly used to provide commentary or further context to other posters' comments, but people on X are also can edit an posted photo through its AI image editing tool.
Background of Controversy and Policy
The system has been faulted for permitting users to create pictures and videos with nudity and sexualised content, and it was in the past accused of making inappropriate content of public figures.
"X has been permitting the production and spread of these images for a long time without taking any steps and we have not seen any action by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own terms of service bans "portraying images of persons in a graphic manner".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was illegal to "create or distribute non-consensual intimate images or child sexual abuse material" and confirmed this included sexual deepfakes made with AI.
It said services such as X were required to take "appropriate steps" to "minimize the risk" of users viewing unlawful content on their services and to remove it swiftly when they are notified of it.
