The social media platform X has provoked significant outrage after individuals used its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to alter images of women by taking off their attire.
Multiple examples have emerged where the system has been used to digitally undress women to show them in bikinis without consent, as well as to insert them in sexualized scenarios.
Developer Reaction and Legal Stance
XAI, the company behind Grok, remained silent to requests for comment, aside from an standard message stating "legacy media lies".
A Home Office official stated that legislation is being introduced to prohibit image stripping software. Under a new law, anyone who provided such technology would "face a jail term and significant fines".
"The platform has the ability to stop these forms of misuse if they wanted to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "appear to enjoy impunity."
Oversight Body Stance and Platform Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said platforms must "assess the risk" of people seeing illegal content on their platforms, but did not confirm whether it was at this time investigating X or Grok in regarding AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a free AI assistant—with some additional features—which answers X users' queries when they mention it in a message.
It is commonly used to provide reactions or further background to other posters' comments, but people on X are also able to alter an uploaded photo through its artificial intelligence picture modification feature.
History of Controversy and Rules
The tool has been faulted for allowing users to create pictures and clips with nudity and sexually suggestive material, and it was earlier alleged to have been involved in creating inappropriate material of celebrities.
"X has been allowing the generation and sharing of these pictures for a long time without taking any measures and we have not seen any action by oversight bodies," the expert added.
XAI's own terms of service bans "portraying likenesses of persons in a sexually explicit manner".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "generate or circulate non-consensual intimate images or child sexual abuse material" and stated this applied to sexual deepfakes made with AI.
It said networks such as X were obligated to take "appropriate steps" to "reduce the risk" of users encountering illegal content on their services and to take down it swiftly when they learn of it.
