The social media network X has provoked widespread backlash after individuals used its AI chatbot Grok to manipulate pictures of women by stripping their garments.
Numerous instances have surfaced where the system has been employed to remove clothing from female subjects to make them appear in bikinis without permission, as well as to place them in sexualized scenarios.
Company Reaction and Regulatory Stance
XAI, the firm behind Grok, did not respond to questions, other than an automatically-generated response stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A government official stated that legislation is being brought forward to prohibit nudification technology. Under a upcoming law, anyone who provided such technology would "receive a prison sentence and substantial penalties".
"X or Grok is capable of halting these forms of abuse if they desired to," said a law professor, adding they "appear to enjoy impunity."
Regulator Position and Tool Functionality
The communications watchdog Ofcom said technology companies must "assess the danger" of people viewing illegal content on their services, but did not specify whether it was presently investigating X or Grok in concerning artificial intelligence pictures.
Grok is a free chatbot—with some premium functions—which responds to X users' queries when they reference it in a post.
It is commonly used to provide commentary or additional background to other posters' comments, but people on X are also capable of alter an uploaded image through its AI image editing function.
Background of Controversy and Policy
The tool has been condemned for permitting users to generate photos and footage with explicit content and sexually suggestive content, and it was in the past alleged to have been involved in creating sexually explicit content of public figures.
"X has been permitting the generation and sharing of these images for months without taking any action and we have not seen any intervention by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own terms of service prohibits "portraying likenesses of people in a pornographic fashion".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "generate or distribute non-consensual intimate images or child sexual abuse material" and confirmed this covered explicit AI images created with AI.
It said platforms such as X were obligated to take "appropriate measures" to "minimize the risk" of users coming across illegal material on their platforms and to delete it promptly when they learn of it.
