The social media network X has caused major outrage after people employed its AI chatbot Grok to change pictures of females by removing their attire.
Several instances have been seen where the tool has been employed to remove clothing from female subjects to show them in swimwear without permission, as well as to place them in inappropriate scenarios.
Developer Reaction and Legal Position
XAI, the firm behind Grok, remained silent to questions, other than an automatically-generated message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A government spokesperson stated that legislation is being brought forward to outlaw nudification technology. Under a upcoming law, anyone who distributed such tools would "face a jail term and heavy penalties".
"The platform has the ability to stop these forms of misuse if they wanted to," said a law professor, adding they "operate with impunity."
Oversight Body Position and Platform Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "consider the potential" of people viewing unlawful material on their networks, but did not confirm whether it was currently looking into X or Grok in concerning AI-generated images.
Grok is a no-cost artificial intelligence—with some additional features—which reacts to X users' queries when they mention it in a tweet.
It is often used to offer reactions or more context to other users' comments, but people on X are also can modify an posted picture through its AI image editing tool.
Background of Controversy and Policy
The tool has been criticised for allowing users to generate pictures and footage with nudity and sexualised content, and it was previously accused of generating sexually explicit content of public figures.
"X has been enabling the generation and sharing of these images for a long time without taking any steps and we have yet to see any action by oversight bodies," the expert added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy forbids "portraying likenesses of persons in a pornographic fashion".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "make or circulate non-consensual intimate images or child sexual abuse material" and confirmed this applied to sexual deepfakes generated with AI.
It said platforms such as X were mandated to take "appropriate actions" to "reduce the danger" of users coming across illegal material on their platforms and to take down it quickly when they are notified of it.
