The online platform X has caused widespread outrage after users used its AI chatbot Grok to alter images of women by stripping their attire.
Multiple examples have surfaced where the tool has been employed to virtually strip female subjects to make them appear in bikinis non-consensually, as well as to place them in sexually explicit scenarios.
Company Reaction and Legal Stance
XAI, the organization that created Grok, did not respond to requests for comment, except for an standard message stating "legacy media lies".
A Home Office official stated that legislation is being proposed to outlaw image stripping technology. Under a proposed criminal offence, anyone who distributed such technology would "be subject to a jail term and substantial fines".
"X or Grok is capable of halting these forms of misuse if they desired to," said a law professor, adding they "seem to have a lack of consequences."
Oversight Body Stance and Tool Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said platforms must "evaluate the risk" of people accessing illegal content on their services, but did not confirm whether it was presently examining X or Grok in regarding artificial intelligence images.
Grok is a no-cost AI assistant—with some premium features—which reacts to X users' prompts when they reference it in a post.
It is often used to offer commentary or further context to other users' comments, but people on X are also capable of alter an posted image through its AI image editing function.
Background of Controversy and Policy
The tool has been criticised for permitting users to produce pictures and videos with nudity and sexually suggestive content, and it was in the past accused of creating graphic content of public figures.
"X has been permitting the generation and distribution of these pictures for a long time without taking any steps and we have not witnessed any action by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own terms of service forbids "showing likenesses of people in a sexually explicit way".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "generate or share private pictures or child sexual abuse material" and stated this applied to explicit AI images created with AI.
It said services such as X were required to take "appropriate measures" to "lessen the danger" of users viewing illegal content on their services and to remove it swiftly when they learn of it.
