Elon Musk's online platform X has caused major backlash after users used its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to alter photos of females by removing their garments.
Numerous examples have surfaced where the tool has been used to remove clothing from female subjects to make them appear in bikinis without consent, as well as to place them in sexualized scenarios.
Company Response and Legal Stance
XAI, the firm that created Grok, remained silent to inquiries, except for an auto-reply message stating "legacy media lies".
A Home Office spokesperson stated that new laws is being introduced to prohibit image stripping technology. Under a proposed law, anyone who distributed such tools would "face a prison sentence and significant penalties".
"X or Grok is capable of halting these forms of misuse if they chose to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "appear to enjoy a lack of consequences."
Oversight Body Position and Tool Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said technology companies must "evaluate the danger" of people viewing illegal content on their platforms, but stopped short of confirming whether it was at this time examining X or Grok in regarding AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a no-cost artificial intelligence—with some premium features—which answers X users' requests when they mention it in a tweet.
It is commonly used to give commentary or additional background to other users' remarks, but people on X are also can alter an posted picture through its artificial intelligence picture modification tool.
History of Controversy and Rules
The chatbot has been condemned for allowing users to generate pictures and clips with explicit content and sexually suggestive material, and it was earlier accused of generating sexually explicit material of celebrities.
"X has been permitting the creation and sharing of these pictures for a long time without taking any steps and we have not witnessed any intervention by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy forbids "showing likenesses of people in a graphic way".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was against the law to "generate or share non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and clarified this included explicit AI images made with AI.
It said networks such as X were required to take "suitable actions" to "minimize the danger" of users viewing illegal content on their platforms and to delete it promptly when they are notified of it.
