The online network X has caused major backlash after individuals employed its AI chatbot Grok to change images of women by taking off their attire.
Numerous instances have surfaced where the system has been used to remove clothing from women to show them in swimwear without permission, as well as to place them in inappropriate situations.
Developer Reaction and Regulatory Stance
XAI, the organization that created Grok, did not respond to inquiries, other than an auto-reply message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A Home Office spokesperson stated that legislation is being introduced to prohibit nudification software. Under a upcoming criminal offence, anyone who distributed such tools would "face a jail term and substantial penalties".
"The platform has the ability to stop these forms of misuse if they wanted to," said a law professor, adding they "operate with impunity."
Regulator Stance and Platform Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said platforms must "evaluate the danger" of people seeing illegal content on their platforms, but did not specify whether it was presently examining X or Grok in relation to AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a no-cost chatbot—with some paid-for features—which reacts to X users' prompts when they reference it in a tweet.
It is often used to offer reactions or additional background to other users' comments, but people on X are also can edit an posted photo through its AI image editing tool.
Background of Controversy and Rules
The system has been criticised for permitting users to produce photos and footage with explicit content and sexualised material, and it was earlier accused of generating graphic content of public figures.
"X has been permitting the generation and sharing of these images for a long time without taking any measures and we have yet to see any action by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own terms of service forbids "depicting likenesses of persons in a pornographic fashion".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was illegal to "generate or distribute deepfakes or child sexual abuse material" and confirmed this applied to sexual deepfakes created with AI.
It said services such as X were required to take "suitable steps" to "reduce the risk" of users viewing illegal content on their services and to take down it swiftly when they are notified of it.
