The social media network X has sparked significant anger after users utilized its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to alter pictures of women by taking off their clothing.
Numerous instances have been seen where the system has been employed to virtually strip female subjects to render them in swimwear non-consensually, as well as to place them in inappropriate scenarios.
Developer Reaction and Regulatory Position
XAI, the company responsible for Grok, did not respond to inquiries, other than an standard message stating "legacy media lies".
A government official stated that legislation is being brought forward to prohibit nudification tools. Under a new law, anyone who supplied such tools would "be subject to a prison sentence and heavy penalties".
"The platform has the ability to stop these forms of misuse if they wanted to," said a law professor, adding they "operate with impunity."
Regulator Position and Platform Functionality
The communications watchdog Ofcom said technology companies must "evaluate the danger" of people accessing unlawful material on their services, but stopped short of confirming whether it was presently examining X or Grok in relation to AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a free AI assistant—with some premium features—which responds to X users' prompts when they mention it in a post.
It is commonly used to offer reactions or additional context to other users' remarks, but people on X are also can alter an posted image through its AI image editing function.
History of Criticism and Rules
The system has been faulted for allowing users to produce images and videos with nudity and sexually suggestive material, and it was previously accused of generating inappropriate content of public figures.
"X has been enabling the generation and spread of these pictures for months without taking any measures and we have not witnessed any challenge by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy prohibits "portraying images of people in a pornographic way".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "generate or circulate non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and clarified this covered sexual deepfakes created with AI.
It said platforms such as X were mandated to take "suitable actions" to "reduce the risk" of users viewing illegal material on their services and to delete it promptly when they become aware of it.
