The online platform X has caused widespread outrage after individuals used its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to change pictures of women by stripping their garments.
Several examples have been seen where the tool has been employed to digitally undress female subjects to make them appear in swimwear without permission, as well as to place them in inappropriate contexts.
Developer Reaction and Legal Stance
XAI, the company that created Grok, did not respond to requests for comment, except for an standard message stating "legacy media lies".
A Home Office official stated that legislation is being brought forward to ban image stripping tools. Under a upcoming law, anyone who supplied such tools would "face a jail term and heavy penalties".
"The platform is capable of halting these types of abuse if they wanted to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "seem to have impunity."
Regulator Position and Tool Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "consider the danger" of people viewing unlawful material on their services, but did not confirm whether it was currently looking into X or Grok in concerning AI-generated images.
Grok is a free chatbot—with some additional features—which reacts to X users' prompts when they mention it in a message.
It is commonly used to give reactions or further background to other users' comments, but people on X are also can edit an posted image through its artificial intelligence picture modification feature.
Background of Criticism and Rules
The tool has been faulted for permitting users to create pictures and footage with explicit content and sexualised content, and it was earlier alleged to have been involved in making graphic content of public figures.
"The platform has been permitting the creation and spread of these pictures for a long time without taking any steps and we have not witnessed any action by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own usage rules bans "portraying likenesses of people in a sexually explicit way".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "create or distribute non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and clarified this applied to explicit AI images made with AI.
It said platforms such as X were required to take "suitable steps" to "minimize the danger" of users viewing illegal content on their services and to take down it swiftly when they are notified of it.
