Elon Musk's online platform X has sparked widespread anger after users utilized its AI chatbot Grok to alter pictures of females by taking off their attire.
Multiple cases have been seen where the tool has been used to virtually strip female subjects to make them appear in bikinis non-consensually, as well as to insert them in inappropriate situations.
Company Reaction and Regulatory Position
XAI, the company that created Grok, offered no comment to inquiries, other than an standard response stating "legacy media lies".
A government representative stated that new laws is being introduced to prohibit image stripping technology. Under a new criminal offence, anyone who provided such technology would "receive a jail term and significant fines".
"The platform could prevent these types of misuse if they desired to," said a law professor, adding they "appear to enjoy a lack of consequences."
Oversight Body Position and Tool Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "evaluate the potential" of people accessing unlawful material on their services, but did not confirm whether it was currently examining X or Grok in concerning AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a free artificial intelligence—with some premium functions—which reacts to X users' prompts when they tag it in a message.
It is commonly used to give commentary or further context to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also capable of alter an uploaded photo through its AI image editing tool.
Background of Criticism and Rules
The tool has been condemned for allowing users to produce images and videos with nudity and sexualised material, and it was earlier alleged to have been involved in generating sexually explicit content of public figures.
"The platform has been permitting the production and distribution of these images for a long time without taking any action and we have not seen any action by oversight bodies," the expert added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy forbids "portraying likenesses of persons in a sexually explicit way".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was against the law to "generate or distribute private pictures or illegal content" and confirmed this covered explicit AI images made with AI.
It said networks such as X were obligated to take "appropriate steps" to "reduce the danger" of users coming across illegal content on their platforms and to remove it swiftly when they learn of it.
