The online network X has caused major outrage after users utilized its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to change pictures of females by taking off their clothing.
Numerous examples have emerged where the tool has been used to digitally undress female subjects to render them in swimwear non-consensually, as well as to place them in sexually explicit contexts.
Developer Reaction and Legal Stance
XAI, the firm that created Grok, remained silent to requests for comment, aside from an standard message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A government spokesperson stated that new laws is being brought forward to prohibit nudification technology. Under a proposed law, anyone who supplied such technology would "face a jail term and substantial penalties".
"X or Grok has the ability to stop these types of abuse if they wanted to," said a law professor, adding they "operate with impunity."
Oversight Body Stance and Tool Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said platforms must "evaluate the risk" of people seeing unlawful material on their networks, but stopped short of confirming whether it was currently looking into X or Grok in regarding artificial intelligence images.
Grok is a no-cost artificial intelligence—with some premium functions—which reacts to X users' requests when they reference it in a tweet.
It is frequently used to give reactions or further background to other users' comments, but people on X are also capable of edit an uploaded picture through its AI image editing function.
Background of Controversy and Policy
The chatbot has been condemned for permitting users to create images and footage with explicit content and sexually suggestive content, and it was in the past alleged to have been involved in creating inappropriate material of celebrities.
"X has been permitting the generation and sharing of these images for a long time without taking any steps and we have yet to see any action by oversight bodies," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy forbids "portraying likenesses of individuals in a sexually explicit manner".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was illegal to "make or circulate non-consensual intimate images or child sexual abuse material" and confirmed this included sexual deepfakes generated with AI.
It said services such as X were mandated to take "necessary measures" to "lessen the danger" of users coming across unlawful content on their services and to remove it quickly when they learn of it.
