The social media platform X has sparked widespread anger after individuals used its AI chatbot Grok to change pictures of women by stripping their clothing.
Multiple examples have emerged where the tool has been employed to virtually strip female subjects to render them in bikinis without consent, as well as to insert them in sexually explicit scenarios.
Developer Response and Legal Position
XAI, the organization responsible for Grok, did not respond to inquiries, aside from an standard message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A Home Office spokesperson stated that legislation is being brought forward to outlaw image stripping tools. Under a new law, anyone who supplied such tools would "receive a jail term and significant fines".
"The platform could prevent these types of abuse if they wanted to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "operate with a lack of consequences."
Oversight Body Position and Platform Capabilities
The communications watchdog Ofcom said technology companies must "consider the risk" of people seeing unlawful material on their services, but did not specify whether it was at this time investigating X or Grok in concerning AI-generated images.
Grok is a free AI assistant—with some additional features—which responds to X users' prompts when they mention it in a message.
It is frequently used to offer reactions or further context to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also capable of modify an uploaded photo through its AI image editing feature.
Background of Controversy and Policy
The chatbot has been faulted for enabling users to produce pictures and footage with nudity and sexually suggestive content, and it was earlier alleged to have been involved in making graphic material of celebrities.
"X has been allowing the production and sharing of these images for a long time without taking any measures and we have yet to see any action by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own usage rules forbids "portraying likenesses of people in a graphic way".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was against the law to "generate or distribute non-consensual intimate images or child sexual abuse material" and stated this included sexual deepfakes made with AI.
It said platforms such as X were required to take "appropriate measures" to "lessen the danger" of users encountering illegal material on their services and to remove it quickly when they become aware of it.
