Elon Musk's online network X has provoked widespread backlash after users utilized its AI chatbot Grok to change images of females by stripping their attire.
Multiple cases have been seen where the tool has been used to digitally undress women to render them in bikinis without consent, as well as to place them in sexually explicit scenarios.
Company Reaction and Legal Stance
XAI, the company that created Grok, offered no comment to requests for comment, other than an auto-reply response stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A Home Office spokesperson stated that new laws is being proposed to outlaw image stripping tools. Under a upcoming criminal offence, anyone who provided such tools would "be subject to a prison sentence and substantial penalties".
"X or Grok could prevent these types of misuse if they chose to," said a law professor, adding they "operate with impunity."
Oversight Body Stance and Tool Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said technology companies must "assess the danger" of people viewing illegal content on their platforms, but stopped short of confirming whether it was presently examining X or Grok in relation to AI-generated images.
Grok is a no-cost AI assistant—with some premium functions—which answers X users' prompts when they reference it in a message.
It is commonly used to provide commentary or further background to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also able to modify an uploaded image through its AI image editing function.
Background of Criticism and Rules
The chatbot has been faulted for enabling users to create images and footage with explicit content and sexualised content, and it was earlier accused of making sexually explicit content of public figures.
"The platform has been enabling the creation and spread of these images for a long time without taking any measures and we have not witnessed any challenge by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own usage rules bans "depicting images of people in a graphic way".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was illegal to "generate or circulate non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and confirmed this included explicit AI images made with AI.
It said networks such as X were obligated to take "appropriate steps" to "lessen the risk" of users coming across unlawful material on their services and to remove it quickly when they are notified of it.
