The online network X has sparked widespread outrage after users employed its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to manipulate images of females by taking off their clothing.
Several cases have emerged where the tool has been employed to remove clothing from women to make them appear in swimwear without consent, as well as to insert them in inappropriate scenarios.
Developer Reaction and Legal Position
XAI, the company responsible for Grok, did not respond to requests for comment, aside from an standard message stating "legacy media lies".
A Home Office spokesperson stated that new laws is being introduced to ban nudification technology. Under a proposed law, anyone who provided such tools would "be subject to a jail term and substantial fines".
"The platform has the ability to stop these types of misuse if they chose to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "appear to enjoy impunity."
Regulator Position and Tool Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said platforms must "consider the risk" of people viewing unlawful material on their platforms, but did not confirm whether it was at this time investigating X or Grok in concerning AI-generated images.
Grok is a no-cost AI assistant—with some additional functions—which responds to X users' requests when they tag it in a post.
It is often used to offer commentary or further background to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also able to edit an posted image through its AI image editing tool.
History of Criticism and Rules
The system has been condemned for enabling users to create images and footage with explicit content and sexualised material, and it was in the past accused of generating graphic content of public figures.
"X has been permitting the generation and spread of these images for months without taking any steps and we have not witnessed any intervention by oversight bodies," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy prohibits "showing images of persons in a sexually explicit way".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "make or share deepfakes or child sexual abuse material" and clarified this included explicit AI images created with AI.
It said platforms such as X were mandated to take "suitable steps" to "minimize the risk" of users viewing illegal content on their services and to remove it swiftly when they are notified of it.
