The online platform X has sparked widespread outrage after individuals used its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to manipulate photos of women by stripping their attire.
Several examples have emerged where the system has been employed to virtually strip women to render them in swimwear without consent, as well as to place them in inappropriate situations.
Developer Reaction and Regulatory Position
XAI, the company that created Grok, did not respond to requests for comment, other than an automatically-generated response stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A government spokesperson stated that legislation is being brought forward to prohibit nudification tools. Under a upcoming criminal offence, anyone who distributed such technology would "face a prison sentence and substantial fines".
"X or Grok has the ability to stop these forms of abuse if they wanted to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "operate with a lack of consequences."
Regulator Position and Platform Capabilities
The communications watchdog Ofcom said tech firms must "assess the potential" of people viewing illegal content on their services, but did not specify whether it was currently looking into X or Grok in concerning AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a free artificial intelligence—with some paid-for functions—which responds to X users' queries when they tag it in a tweet.
It is commonly used to provide reactions or further background to other posters' comments, but people on X are also capable of alter an uploaded photo through its artificial intelligence picture modification function.
Background of Controversy and Policy
The chatbot has been criticised for enabling users to create pictures and videos with explicit content and sexually suggestive material, and it was earlier alleged to have been involved in generating sexually explicit content of public figures.
"X has been enabling the generation and distribution of these pictures for months without taking any steps and we have not witnessed any action by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy prohibits "showing likenesses of persons in a graphic manner".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "make or share deepfakes or child sexual abuse material" and stated this applied to explicit AI images created with AI.
It said networks such as X were mandated to take "necessary actions" to "lessen the risk" of users coming across illegal content on their services and to remove it swiftly when they learn of it.
