Elon Musk's social media platform X has sparked significant outrage after individuals used its AI chatbot Grok to manipulate photos of women by stripping their garments.
Several instances have surfaced where the technology has been used to virtually strip women to show them in swimwear without permission, as well as to place them in sexualized scenarios.
Company Response and Regulatory Position
XAI, the firm responsible for Grok, did not respond to inquiries, except for an standard message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A Home Office representative stated that legislation is being proposed to prohibit image stripping software. Under a upcoming law, anyone who provided such tools would "receive a jail term and substantial penalties".
"X or Grok could prevent these forms of abuse if they desired to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "operate with a lack of consequences."
Regulator Stance and Platform Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said technology companies must "evaluate the potential" of people viewing illegal content on their platforms, but stopped short of confirming whether it was at this time investigating X or Grok in concerning AI-generated images.
Grok is a no-cost artificial intelligence—with some paid-for functions—which reacts to X users' prompts when they reference it in a post.
It is frequently used to give reactions or additional background to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also able to edit an posted image through its AI image editing function.
Background of Controversy and Rules
The system has been criticised for permitting users to generate photos and footage with explicit content and sexualised material, and it was in the past alleged to have been involved in creating graphic material of public figures.
"The platform has been permitting the production and distribution of these images for months without taking any action and we have not witnessed any action by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy prohibits "portraying images of persons in a sexually explicit fashion".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "create or circulate non-consensual intimate images or child sexual abuse material" and clarified this included sexual deepfakes created with AI.
It said services such as X were mandated to take "necessary steps" to "minimize the danger" of users viewing illegal material on their platforms and to take down it swiftly when they become aware of it.
