Elon Musk's social media platform X has caused significant outrage after individuals employed its AI chatbot Grok to manipulate pictures of females by stripping their clothing.
Numerous examples have been seen where the technology has been employed to digitally undress women to make them appear in bikinis non-consensually, as well as to put them in inappropriate scenarios.
Developer Response and Legal Stance
XAI, the organization that created Grok, did not respond to questions, aside from an standard message stating "legacy media lies".
A Home Office official stated that new laws is being brought forward to outlaw nudification software. Under a new law, anyone who provided such technology would "face a jail term and heavy penalties".
"The platform has the ability to stop these forms of abuse if they desired to," said a law professor, adding they "seem to have impunity."
Oversight Body Stance and Tool Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said platforms must "evaluate the danger" of people accessing illegal content on their networks, but did not confirm whether it was currently examining X or Grok in relation to AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a free chatbot—with some additional features—which responds to X users' requests when they mention it in a tweet.
It is commonly used to provide reactions or additional background to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also can alter an uploaded photo through its AI image editing function.
Background of Controversy and Rules
The tool has been criticised for allowing users to produce photos and videos with nudity and sexually suggestive material, and it was previously alleged to have been involved in making inappropriate material of celebrities.
"The platform has been allowing the creation and distribution of these pictures for a long time without taking any action and we have yet to see any challenge by oversight bodies," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy bans "portraying images of individuals in a pornographic way".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "create or distribute non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and confirmed this covered sexual deepfakes generated with AI.
It said platforms such as X were mandated to take "necessary steps" to "reduce the risk" of users encountering illegal material on their platforms and to remove it quickly when they become aware of it.
