Elon Musk's online platform X has caused major outrage after people used its AI chatbot Grok to alter pictures of females by removing their attire.
Multiple instances have surfaced where the system has been employed to remove clothing from female subjects to render them in swimwear without consent, as well as to put them in inappropriate scenarios.
Company Reaction and Legal Stance
XAI, the organization that created Grok, offered no comment to requests for comment, except for an automatically-generated message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A Home Office spokesperson stated that new laws is being brought forward to ban image stripping software. Under a new criminal offence, anyone who supplied such technology would "be subject to a prison sentence and substantial fines".
"X or Grok could prevent these forms of misuse if they chose to," said a law professor, adding they "operate with a lack of consequences."
Oversight Body Stance and Tool Functionality
The communications watchdog Ofcom said tech firms must "evaluate the potential" of people viewing illegal content on their networks, but did not specify whether it was at this time looking into X or Grok in regarding AI-generated images.
Grok is a no-cost AI assistant—with some additional features—which answers X users' prompts when they mention it in a message.
It is often used to provide reactions or more background to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also capable of alter an uploaded picture through its AI image editing function.
Background of Controversy and Policy
The chatbot has been condemned for enabling users to create pictures and footage with explicit content and sexualised material, and it was earlier alleged to have been involved in creating inappropriate content of celebrities.
"The platform has been enabling the generation and distribution of these pictures for months without taking any measures and we have not seen any action by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own terms of service bans "showing likenesses of individuals in a graphic way".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was illegal to "generate or circulate deepfakes or illegal content" and confirmed this covered sexual deepfakes made with AI.
It said platforms such as X were required to take "necessary steps" to "lessen the danger" of users viewing illegal content on their platforms and to take down it promptly when they learn of it.
