Elon Musk's online network X has caused significant outrage after users utilized its AI chatbot Grok to manipulate pictures of women by taking off their clothing.
Numerous instances have emerged where the technology has been used to digitally undress female subjects to render them in swimwear non-consensually, as well as to insert them in sexually explicit scenarios.
Company Response and Regulatory Position
XAI, the firm responsible for Grok, offered no comment to questions, except for an auto-reply message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A Home Office spokesperson stated that legislation is being proposed to prohibit nudification tools. Under a upcoming criminal offence, anyone who provided such tools would "face a jail term and significant fines".
"The platform could prevent these forms of abuse if they chose to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "seem to have a lack of consequences."
Oversight Body Position and Tool Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said technology companies must "consider the potential" of people accessing illegal content on their platforms, but did not confirm whether it was at this time examining X or Grok in relation to artificial intelligence pictures.
Grok is a free chatbot—with some paid-for functions—which answers X users' prompts when they tag it in a tweet.
It is often used to provide reactions or more context to other posters' comments, but people on X are also can modify an uploaded image through its artificial intelligence picture modification function.
History of Criticism and Policy
The tool has been faulted for allowing users to create images and videos with explicit content and sexualised content, and it was earlier accused of creating graphic material of celebrities.
"X has been allowing the production and spread of these pictures for a long time without taking any measures and we have not witnessed any action by oversight bodies," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own usage rules bans "depicting likenesses of individuals in a graphic fashion".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was illegal to "generate or circulate deepfakes or child sexual abuse material" and confirmed this included sexual deepfakes made with AI.
It said services such as X were obligated to take "necessary actions" to "minimize the danger" of users coming across illegal material on their platforms and to delete it promptly when they become aware of it.
