Elon Musk's online network X has sparked widespread anger after users utilized its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to alter images of females by removing their clothing.
Several instances have been seen where the system has been used to virtually strip female subjects to render them in swimwear non-consensually, as well as to insert them in sexually explicit situations.
Developer Reaction and Regulatory Stance
XAI, the organization that created Grok, offered no comment to questions, other than an auto-reply message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A Home Office spokesperson stated that new laws is being brought forward to outlaw image stripping technology. Under a proposed law, anyone who supplied such technology would "receive a jail term and heavy fines".
"The platform has the ability to stop these forms of misuse if they desired to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "appear to enjoy impunity."
Regulator Position and Platform Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said platforms must "assess the risk" of people viewing unlawful material on their platforms, but stopped short of confirming whether it was currently examining X or Grok in relation to artificial intelligence pictures.
Grok is a no-cost artificial intelligence—with some paid-for features—which reacts to X users' queries when they reference it in a message.
It is often used to offer commentary or additional background to other users' comments, but people on X are also able to modify an uploaded image through its artificial intelligence picture modification function.
History of Controversy and Rules
The system has been criticised for permitting users to create images and footage with nudity and sexualised material, and it was previously accused of creating inappropriate content of public figures.
"X has been permitting the generation and distribution of these pictures for months without taking any steps and we have not witnessed any action by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own usage rules forbids "depicting likenesses of persons in a graphic fashion".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was illegal to "make or distribute private pictures or child sexual abuse material" and confirmed this included explicit AI images generated with AI.
It said services such as X were required to take "necessary actions" to "reduce the risk" of users viewing unlawful material on their platforms and to delete it quickly when they are notified of it.
