The online network X has sparked major backlash after individuals employed its AI chatbot Grok to manipulate photos of females by removing their attire.
Several instances have surfaced where the technology has been employed to virtually strip female subjects to render them in swimwear without consent, as well as to put them in sexualized scenarios.
Company Response and Regulatory Stance
XAI, the organization responsible for Grok, remained silent to questions, aside from an standard message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A Home Office representative stated that new laws is being introduced to outlaw nudification software. Under a upcoming law, anyone who distributed such technology would "be subject to a jail term and heavy penalties".
"The platform is capable of halting these forms of abuse if they wanted to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "operate with impunity."
Regulator Position and Tool Capabilities
The communications watchdog Ofcom said technology companies must "consider the potential" of people viewing illegal content on their services, but did not specify whether it was currently examining X or Grok in regarding AI-generated images.
Grok is a free chatbot—with some paid-for features—which answers X users' requests when they mention it in a post.
It is frequently used to provide commentary or further background to other users' comments, but people on X are also able to edit an uploaded photo through its artificial intelligence picture modification function.
History of Controversy and Policy
The chatbot has been criticised for permitting users to produce images and clips with explicit content and sexualised material, and it was in the past alleged to have been involved in generating graphic content of public figures.
"The platform has been allowing the creation and spread of these pictures for months without taking any measures and we have not seen any intervention by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own terms of service forbids "depicting images of individuals in a graphic fashion".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "generate or circulate non-consensual intimate images or child sexual abuse material" and confirmed this included explicit AI images created with AI.
It said networks such as X were mandated to take "necessary measures" to "minimize the danger" of users encountering illegal material on their platforms and to delete it swiftly when they are notified of it.
