The online platform X has provoked widespread backlash after users utilized its AI chatbot Grok to alter photos of females by taking off their attire.
Numerous instances have been seen where the technology has been used to remove clothing from female subjects to render them in swimwear without consent, as well as to place them in sexualized scenarios.
Company Reaction and Regulatory Stance
XAI, the firm behind Grok, remained silent to questions, except for an auto-reply response stating "legacy media lies".
A government spokesperson stated that legislation is being brought forward to ban nudification software. Under a new criminal offence, anyone who supplied such tools would "receive a prison sentence and substantial penalties".
"X or Grok is capable of halting these forms of abuse if they wanted to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "operate with impunity."
Oversight Body Position and Platform Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said technology companies must "consider the danger" of people accessing unlawful material on their services, but did not specify whether it was currently examining X or Grok in concerning artificial intelligence pictures.
Grok is a free artificial intelligence—with some paid-for features—which answers X users' queries when they tag it in a tweet.
It is frequently used to provide commentary or further context to other users' comments, but people on X are also able to modify an uploaded photo through its AI image editing function.
Background of Controversy and Rules
The system has been criticised for enabling users to create photos and clips with explicit content and sexually suggestive material, and it was in the past accused of making sexually explicit content of celebrities.
"X has been permitting the production and spread of these images for a long time without taking any action and we have not seen any action by oversight bodies," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy prohibits "depicting likenesses of individuals in a graphic manner".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "generate or circulate deepfakes or illegal content" and clarified this included sexual deepfakes made with AI.
It said networks such as X were mandated to take "necessary actions" to "minimize the risk" of users coming across illegal content on their services and to take down it quickly when they learn of it.
