The social media network X has sparked widespread backlash after users used its AI chatbot Grok to change pictures of females by stripping their attire.
Numerous instances have surfaced where the tool has been employed to remove clothing from female subjects to make them appear in swimwear without consent, as well as to place them in sexualized situations.
Company Reaction and Legal Stance
XAI, the firm behind Grok, remained silent to requests for comment, other than an standard response stating "legacy media lies".
A government official stated that new laws is being proposed to outlaw image stripping technology. Under a new law, anyone who supplied such technology would "be subject to a jail term and significant penalties".
"X or Grok has the ability to stop these forms of abuse if they desired to," said a law professor, adding they "seem to have impunity."
Oversight Body Stance and Platform Capabilities
The communications watchdog Ofcom said tech firms must "evaluate the danger" of people accessing illegal content on their services, but did not specify whether it was at this time investigating X or Grok in regarding artificial intelligence pictures.
Grok is a no-cost AI assistant—with some paid-for features—which responds to X users' prompts when they tag it in a tweet.
It is often used to provide commentary or more background to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also able to alter an posted image through its artificial intelligence picture modification function.
History of Controversy and Rules
The tool has been criticised for permitting users to generate photos and clips with nudity and sexualised content, and it was previously accused of generating sexually explicit material of celebrities.
"X has been enabling the generation and sharing of these pictures for months without taking any measures and we have yet to see any action by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy prohibits "portraying images of individuals in a pornographic way".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "generate or distribute private pictures or child sexual abuse material" and clarified this covered explicit AI images created with AI.
It said platforms such as X were obligated to take "necessary steps" to "lessen the risk" of users encountering illegal content on their platforms and to remove it quickly when they are notified of it.
