Elon Musk's online network X has sparked significant outrage after people employed its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to alter pictures of females by stripping their attire.
Several cases have surfaced where the tool has been employed to remove clothing from women to show them in swimwear without permission, as well as to place them in inappropriate contexts.
Developer Response and Legal Position
XAI, the company behind Grok, did not respond to inquiries, aside from an standard response stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A Home Office representative stated that legislation is being proposed to prohibit image stripping technology. Under a proposed criminal offence, anyone who distributed such technology would "face a prison sentence and significant penalties".
"X or Grok could prevent these types of misuse if they wanted to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "appear to enjoy impunity."
Regulator Position and Tool Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "evaluate the risk" of people viewing unlawful material on their networks, but did not confirm whether it was at this time investigating X or Grok in relation to artificial intelligence images.
Grok is a no-cost artificial intelligence—with some premium functions—which answers X users' requests when they reference it in a tweet.
It is commonly used to offer reactions or more context to other users' remarks, but people on X are also capable of alter an posted picture through its artificial intelligence picture modification feature.
Background of Criticism and Policy
The tool has been condemned for enabling users to create photos and footage with explicit content and sexually suggestive material, and it was earlier alleged to have been involved in generating inappropriate content of celebrities.
"X has been allowing the generation and sharing of these pictures for months without taking any measures and we have not seen any action by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own usage rules forbids "portraying images of individuals in a graphic manner".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was illegal to "make or circulate non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and clarified this covered sexual deepfakes generated with AI.
It said platforms such as X were obligated to take "suitable actions" to "lessen the risk" of users viewing illegal content on their services and to take down it promptly when they are notified of it.
