The online platform X has provoked widespread backlash after individuals used its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to change photos of females by stripping their clothing.
Numerous cases have surfaced where the system has been used to digitally undress female subjects to show them in bikinis without consent, as well as to put them in sexualized situations.
Developer Reaction and Regulatory Stance
XAI, the organization that created Grok, did not respond to requests for comment, other than an standard response stating "legacy media lies".
A government official stated that legislation is being introduced to ban nudification tools. Under a proposed law, anyone who distributed such tools would "face a jail term and heavy penalties".
"X or Grok could prevent these forms of misuse if they wanted to," said a law professor, adding they "seem to have a lack of consequences."
Oversight Body Stance and Platform Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said technology companies must "assess the potential" of people viewing illegal content on their networks, but stopped short of confirming whether it was presently investigating X or Grok in concerning artificial intelligence images.
Grok is a free artificial intelligence—with some premium features—which answers X users' requests when they reference it in a post.
It is commonly used to provide reactions or additional background to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also can edit an uploaded photo through its AI image editing feature.
Background of Criticism and Rules
The chatbot has been condemned for permitting users to generate photos and footage with nudity and sexually suggestive material, and it was in the past alleged to have been involved in creating inappropriate material of celebrities.
"X has been permitting the creation and sharing of these pictures for months without taking any steps and we have yet to see any challenge by oversight bodies," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy bans "portraying likenesses of individuals in a pornographic manner".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was against the law to "create or circulate deepfakes or illegal content" and confirmed this covered sexual deepfakes generated with AI.
It said networks such as X were obligated to take "suitable steps" to "reduce the danger" of users viewing illegal content on their platforms and to remove it swiftly when they learn of it.
