Elon Musk's online platform X has provoked major outrage after individuals employed its AI chatbot Grok to change images of women by removing their clothing.
Multiple cases have emerged where the system has been employed to virtually strip female subjects to render them in bikinis without consent, as well as to put them in sexually explicit situations.
Company Response and Regulatory Stance
XAI, the organization behind Grok, remained silent to inquiries, other than an auto-reply response stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A government representative stated that legislation is being introduced to outlaw nudification software. Under a proposed law, anyone who supplied such technology would "face a prison sentence and substantial penalties".
"X or Grok has the ability to stop these forms of misuse if they desired to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "appear to enjoy a lack of consequences."
Regulator Stance and Platform Functionality
The communications watchdog Ofcom said platforms must "evaluate the potential" of people viewing illegal content on their services, but did not confirm whether it was presently looking into X or Grok in concerning AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a free chatbot—with some paid-for features—which answers X users' queries when they mention it in a post.
It is commonly used to offer commentary or further background to other posters' comments, but people on X are also able to edit an posted photo through its artificial intelligence picture modification tool.
Background of Controversy and Rules
The tool has been faulted for permitting users to create images and videos with nudity and sexualised content, and it was previously alleged to have been involved in generating inappropriate content of celebrities.
"The platform has been enabling the production and distribution of these images for months without taking any steps and we have not witnessed any challenge by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own terms of service prohibits "showing likenesses of individuals in a sexually explicit manner".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was illegal to "make or distribute private pictures or child sexual abuse material" and stated this applied to explicit AI images made with AI.
It said networks such as X were obligated to take "appropriate measures" to "lessen the risk" of users coming across unlawful material on their platforms and to remove it promptly when they become aware of it.
