The online platform X has sparked widespread backlash after individuals utilized its AI chatbot Grok to manipulate pictures of females by removing their attire.
Numerous instances have emerged where the system has been used to virtually strip women to render them in swimwear without permission, as well as to insert them in sexually explicit scenarios.
Developer Response and Regulatory Stance
XAI, the company that created Grok, remained silent to inquiries, aside from an automatically-generated response stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A government official stated that new laws is being brought forward to prohibit nudification tools. Under a new criminal offence, anyone who supplied such technology would "receive a jail term and substantial penalties".
"X or Grok has the ability to stop these types of misuse if they chose to," said a law professor, adding they "appear to enjoy impunity."
Regulator Stance and Platform Capabilities
The communications watchdog Ofcom said tech firms must "assess the potential" of people accessing unlawful material on their platforms, but did not confirm whether it was presently investigating X or Grok in relation to artificial intelligence images.
Grok is a no-cost chatbot—with some paid-for features—which responds to X users' requests when they mention it in a message.
It is frequently used to give commentary or additional background to other users' comments, but people on X are also capable of alter an uploaded photo through its AI image editing feature.
Background of Criticism and Rules
The tool has been criticised for permitting users to generate photos and clips with explicit content and sexually suggestive material, and it was earlier accused of making sexually explicit content of celebrities.
"The platform has been allowing the creation and spread of these pictures for a long time without taking any measures and we have not seen any intervention by oversight bodies," the expert added.
XAI's own usage rules bans "depicting images of persons in a sexually explicit manner".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was against the law to "make or distribute non-consensual intimate images or child sexual abuse material" and clarified this included explicit AI images created with AI.
It said services such as X were required to take "appropriate measures" to "lessen the danger" of users viewing unlawful content on their services and to delete it swiftly when they are notified of it.
