The online network X has sparked major outrage after people used its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to manipulate pictures of females by taking off their attire.
Multiple instances have surfaced where the system has been employed to virtually strip female subjects to render them in bikinis non-consensually, as well as to insert them in inappropriate contexts.
Company Reaction and Regulatory Position
XAI, the company that created Grok, offered no comment to requests for comment, other than an automatically-generated response stating "legacy media lies".
A Home Office representative stated that legislation is being brought forward to prohibit image stripping tools. Under a upcoming law, anyone who distributed such technology would "face a jail term and substantial penalties".
"The platform has the ability to stop these types of misuse if they wanted to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "seem to have impunity."
Regulator Position and Tool Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said platforms must "evaluate the danger" of people viewing unlawful material on their networks, but did not confirm whether it was presently investigating X or Grok in regarding artificial intelligence pictures.
Grok is a no-cost AI assistant—with some additional features—which answers X users' requests when they tag it in a post.
It is commonly used to give commentary or additional background to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also can modify an uploaded photo through its artificial intelligence picture modification tool.
History of Controversy and Rules
The tool has been faulted for permitting users to generate photos and videos 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 enabling the generation and spread of these images for months without taking any action and we have not seen any action by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own usage rules forbids "depicting likenesses of people in a graphic way".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was against the law to "make or circulate non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and confirmed this applied to explicit AI images created with AI.
It said networks such as X were mandated to take "suitable actions" to "minimize the risk" of users viewing illegal material on their platforms and to delete it swiftly when they become aware of it.
