The online network X has caused significant anger after users employed its AI chatbot Grok to manipulate pictures of women by stripping their attire.
Multiple instances have surfaced where the technology has been used to remove clothing from women to show them in bikinis without consent, as well as to insert them in inappropriate scenarios.
Developer Reaction and Regulatory Stance
XAI, the company that created Grok, remained silent to inquiries, other than an standard message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A government official stated that new laws is being brought forward to prohibit image stripping technology. Under a upcoming law, anyone who provided such technology would "be subject to a jail term and substantial fines".
"The platform could prevent these forms of misuse if they desired to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "operate with impunity."
Regulator Stance and Platform Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said platforms must "assess the danger" of people seeing unlawful material on their platforms, but stopped short of confirming whether it was at this time examining X or Grok in regarding artificial intelligence pictures.
Grok is a free chatbot—with some paid-for functions—which responds to X users' requests when they reference it in a message.
It is frequently used to provide commentary or additional context to other users' remarks, but people on X are also able to alter an uploaded picture through its artificial intelligence picture modification function.
Background of Controversy and Rules
The system has been faulted for permitting users to produce images and videos with explicit content and sexually suggestive content, and it was in the past accused of creating sexually explicit content of public figures.
"X has been enabling the production and sharing of these pictures for months without taking any measures and we have yet to see any intervention by oversight bodies," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own usage rules bans "showing likenesses of individuals in a graphic manner".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was against the law to "create or share private pictures or illegal content" and clarified this applied to sexual deepfakes generated with AI.
It said platforms such as X were required to take "appropriate steps" to "minimize the danger" of users viewing illegal material on their platforms and to remove it swiftly when they become aware of it.