Elon Musk's social media platform X has sparked significant backlash after users used its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to change images of females by taking off their garments.
Multiple examples have surfaced where the tool has been employed to virtually strip female subjects to make them appear in bikinis without consent, as well as to place them in sexualized contexts.
Developer Reaction and Legal Position
XAI, the organization that created Grok, remained silent to requests for comment, other than an auto-reply message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A government representative stated that legislation is being proposed to prohibit image stripping software. Under a new criminal offence, anyone who provided such technology would "face a prison sentence and significant fines".
"The platform has the ability to stop these types of misuse if they desired to," said a law professor, adding they "appear to enjoy a lack of consequences."
Regulator Position and Platform Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said technology companies must "consider the risk" of people seeing illegal content on their networks, but did not confirm whether it was presently examining X or Grok in concerning AI-generated images.
Grok is a free chatbot—with some paid-for features—which answers X users' prompts when they reference it in a post.
It is often used to give reactions or more background to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also able to alter an uploaded picture through its artificial intelligence picture modification feature.
History of Controversy and Rules
The system has been criticised for enabling users to create photos and footage with explicit content and sexualised content, and it was previously accused of making inappropriate material of public figures.
"The platform has been allowing the generation and spread of these images for months without taking any measures and we have not seen any intervention by oversight bodies," the expert added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy bans "showing likenesses of persons in a graphic manner".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was illegal to "generate or circulate non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and clarified this applied to explicit AI images made with AI.
It said platforms such as X were mandated to take "suitable steps" to "reduce the risk" of users viewing illegal material on their services and to remove it promptly when they become aware of it.
