The online platform X has sparked major backlash after people used its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to change images of women by removing their attire.
Multiple instances have emerged where the technology has been employed to digitally undress women to make them appear in swimwear without consent, as well as to place them in inappropriate scenarios.
Company Response and Legal Position
XAI, the firm responsible for Grok, offered no comment to requests for comment, except for an auto-reply response stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A government official stated that legislation is being introduced to prohibit nudification software. Under a proposed law, anyone who distributed such technology would "receive a prison sentence and significant fines".
"The platform is capable of halting these types of misuse if they wanted to," said a law professor, adding they "seem to have impunity."
Oversight Body Stance and Platform Functionality
The communications watchdog Ofcom said tech firms must "consider the risk" of people seeing unlawful material on their platforms, but did not specify whether it was currently looking into X or Grok in regarding AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a no-cost AI assistant—with some additional functions—which responds to X users' prompts when they tag it in a post.
It is often used to give reactions or further background to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also capable of alter an posted photo through its artificial intelligence picture modification feature.
Background of Criticism and Rules
The tool has been faulted for permitting users to create photos and videos with explicit content and sexualised content, and it was in the past alleged to have been involved in creating inappropriate material of celebrities.
"The platform has been permitting the creation and spread of these images for a long time without taking any steps and we have yet to see any intervention by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own usage rules prohibits "depicting images of persons in a graphic manner".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was illegal to "generate or circulate non-consensual intimate images or child sexual abuse material" and stated this included explicit AI images made with AI.
It said services such as X were obligated to take "necessary measures" to "minimize the risk" of users viewing unlawful content on their services and to remove it swiftly when they are notified of it.
