The online network X has sparked widespread backlash after people employed its AI chatbot Grok to change photos of women by stripping their attire.
Several cases have been seen where the tool has been used to virtually strip female subjects to make them appear in swimwear non-consensually, as well as to place them in inappropriate contexts.
Developer Reaction and Regulatory Position
XAI, the company behind Grok, did not respond to questions, except for an standard message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A government representative stated that new laws is being brought forward to outlaw nudification technology. Under a new criminal offence, anyone who supplied such tools would "face a prison sentence and heavy fines".
"X or Grok could prevent these forms of abuse if they chose to," said a law professor, adding they "seem to have a lack of consequences."
Regulator Stance and Tool Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "evaluate the risk" of people seeing illegal content on their platforms, but did not confirm whether it was presently examining X or Grok in concerning artificial intelligence pictures.
Grok is a free artificial intelligence—with some paid-for features—which answers X users' queries when they tag it in a message.
It is commonly used to give reactions or additional background to other users' comments, but people on X are also able to alter an uploaded image through its artificial intelligence picture modification tool.
Background of Controversy and Rules
The tool has been faulted for allowing users to generate images and clips with nudity and sexualised material, and it was previously accused of generating inappropriate content of public figures.
"X has been allowing the creation and distribution of these pictures for a long time without taking any steps and we have not seen any intervention by oversight bodies," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own usage rules bans "portraying images of people in a sexually explicit fashion".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "create or distribute non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and stated this covered explicit AI images made with AI.
It said networks such as X were obligated to take "appropriate steps" to "minimize the risk" of users coming across unlawful content on their services and to take down it quickly when they are notified of it.
