The online platform X has provoked major outrage after individuals employed its AI chatbot Grok to manipulate photos of women by removing their garments.
Numerous instances have been seen where the technology has been used to virtually strip female subjects to make them appear in bikinis without consent, as well as to place them in inappropriate scenarios.
Developer Response and Legal Stance
XAI, the firm behind Grok, did not respond to requests for comment, other than an standard message stating "legacy media lies".
A Home Office representative stated that new laws is being proposed to prohibit image stripping software. Under a new law, anyone who supplied such technology would "face a prison sentence and significant penalties".
"The platform is capable of halting these forms of abuse if they desired to," said a law professor, adding they "appear to enjoy a lack of consequences."
Oversight Body Stance and Tool Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said platforms must "assess the potential" of people seeing illegal content on their services, but did not specify whether it was currently looking into X or Grok in relation to AI-generated images.
Grok is a free chatbot—with some paid-for functions—which answers X users' requests when they mention it in a message.
It is often used to give commentary or more background to other users' remarks, but people on X are also capable of edit an posted image through its artificial intelligence picture modification tool.
History of Controversy and Policy
The chatbot has been faulted for enabling users to generate photos and clips with nudity and sexually suggestive content, and it was previously alleged to have been involved in making sexually explicit material of celebrities.
"X has been permitting the production and sharing of these images for a long time without taking any measures and we have not seen any challenge by oversight bodies," the expert added.
XAI's own usage rules forbids "portraying images of people in a pornographic manner".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "make or share non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and clarified this covered sexual deepfakes generated with AI.
It said networks such as X were required to take "appropriate actions" to "minimize the risk" of users coming across illegal material on their platforms and to delete it quickly when they become aware of it.
