The online network X has sparked major backlash after users employed its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to manipulate images of females by stripping their clothing.
Several examples have surfaced where the system has been used to remove clothing from female subjects to make them appear in swimwear without consent, as well as to put them in sexually explicit situations.
Developer Reaction and Regulatory Position
XAI, the organization behind Grok, offered no comment to requests for comment, other than an auto-reply message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A government representative stated that new laws is being proposed to prohibit image stripping tools. Under a upcoming law, anyone who provided such tools would "receive a jail term and heavy fines".
"The platform is capable of halting these types of abuse if they desired to," said a law professor, adding they "seem to have impunity."
Regulator Stance and Platform Functionality
The communications watchdog Ofcom said tech firms must "assess the risk" of people accessing unlawful material on their platforms, but did not specify whether it was at this time investigating X or Grok in regarding AI-generated images.
Grok is a free artificial intelligence—with some premium functions—which reacts to X users' queries when they mention it in a tweet.
It is commonly used to provide commentary or additional context to other posters' comments, but people on X are also able to edit an posted picture through its artificial intelligence picture modification function.
History of Criticism and Rules
The chatbot has been criticised for allowing users to produce images and videos with nudity and sexually suggestive content, and it was in the past accused of making inappropriate content of celebrities.
"X has been permitting the production and sharing of these images for months without taking any measures and we have not witnessed any action by oversight bodies," the expert added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy bans "portraying images of people in a graphic way".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "create or distribute non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and confirmed this covered sexual deepfakes made with AI.
It said networks such as X were required to take "necessary measures" to "minimize the danger" of users coming across unlawful content on their services and to take down it quickly when they become aware of it.
