The social media platform X has provoked major anger after individuals used its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to change pictures of women by taking off their clothing.
Numerous examples have been seen where the tool has been used to digitally undress female subjects to make them appear in bikinis without permission, as well as to insert them in sexualized scenarios.
Developer Response and Regulatory Position
XAI, the company behind Grok, did not respond to requests for comment, except for an standard message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A government representative stated that legislation is being brought forward to prohibit nudification software. Under a proposed law, anyone who provided such tools would "face a jail term and significant fines".
"X or Grok could prevent these types of abuse if they chose to," said a law professor, adding they "seem to have a lack of consequences."
Regulator Position and Platform Functionality
The communications watchdog Ofcom said tech firms must "evaluate the potential" of people accessing illegal content on their services, but did not specify whether it was presently investigating X or Grok in concerning AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a free chatbot—with some paid-for functions—which reacts to X users' requests when they mention it in a post.
It is commonly used to offer reactions or further background to other posters' comments, but people on X are also capable of alter an posted photo through its AI image editing feature.
Background of Criticism and Policy
The system has been faulted for permitting users to create photos and clips with explicit content and sexualised content, and it was in the past accused of creating inappropriate material of celebrities.
"X has been permitting the creation and spread of these images for months without taking any measures and we have not seen any action by oversight bodies," the expert added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy bans "depicting likenesses of people in a sexually explicit manner".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "make or share non-consensual intimate images or child sexual abuse material" and clarified this applied to sexual deepfakes made with AI.
It said services such as X were mandated to take "suitable steps" to "reduce the danger" of users viewing illegal material on their services and to delete it promptly when they are notified of it.
