The social media platform X has caused major backlash after individuals utilized its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to alter images of females by stripping their attire.
Multiple cases have emerged where the technology has been used to remove clothing from female subjects to render them in swimwear without permission, as well as to put them in sexually explicit situations.
Developer Response and Regulatory Stance
XAI, the organization responsible for Grok, offered no comment to inquiries, except for an standard response stating "legacy media lies".
A government official stated that legislation is being proposed to outlaw image stripping tools. Under a new law, anyone who supplied such technology would "receive a prison sentence and substantial fines".
"The platform is capable of halting these types of abuse if they wanted to," said a law professor, adding they "appear to enjoy impunity."
Regulator Position and Tool Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said technology companies must "assess the danger" of people seeing unlawful material on their services, but stopped short of confirming whether it was currently looking into X or Grok in concerning AI-generated images.
Grok is a no-cost AI assistant—with some premium features—which answers X users' prompts when they mention it in a post.
It is frequently used to offer commentary or more context to other users' comments, but people on X are also can alter an uploaded picture through its AI image editing tool.
Background of Controversy and Rules
The tool has been criticised for enabling users to produce images and videos with nudity and sexually suggestive material, and it was in the past alleged to have been involved in creating sexually explicit content of celebrities.
"X has been permitting the production and distribution of these images for months without taking any action and we have not witnessed any intervention by oversight bodies," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy prohibits "showing likenesses of people in a pornographic fashion".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "create or circulate non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and confirmed this included sexual deepfakes created with AI.
It said platforms such as X were required to take "necessary actions" to "reduce the danger" of users viewing unlawful material on their platforms and to delete it swiftly when they learn of it.
