The online network X has provoked major outrage after users utilized its AI chatbot Grok to manipulate pictures of women by stripping their clothing.
Multiple cases have been seen where the system has been used to virtually strip women to render them in swimwear non-consensually, as well as to put them in inappropriate situations.
Company Reaction and Legal Stance
XAI, the company behind Grok, did not respond to requests for comment, aside from an standard response stating "legacy media lies".
A government spokesperson stated that legislation is being brought forward to prohibit image stripping technology. Under a new law, anyone who supplied such technology would "be subject to a jail term and significant fines".
"X or Grok is capable of halting these types of abuse if they desired to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "appear to enjoy a lack of consequences."
Oversight Body Stance and Platform Capabilities
The communications watchdog Ofcom said platforms must "consider the danger" of people accessing illegal content on their platforms, but stopped short of confirming whether it was presently looking into X or Grok in concerning artificial intelligence images.
Grok is a free AI assistant—with some premium functions—which reacts to X users' prompts when they tag it in a message.
It is frequently used to give reactions or more context to other users' comments, but people on X are also capable of modify an uploaded image through its artificial intelligence picture modification feature.
History of Controversy and Rules
The system has been condemned for permitting users to produce images and videos with explicit content and sexually suggestive material, and it was in the past alleged to have been involved in generating inappropriate material of public figures.
"The platform has been allowing the generation and distribution of these images for a long time without taking any measures and we have not seen any intervention by oversight bodies," the expert added.
XAI's own terms of service forbids "depicting likenesses of people in a pornographic way".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was against the law to "create or circulate non-consensual intimate images or child sexual abuse material" and stated this covered explicit AI images created with AI.
It said services such as X were obligated to take "appropriate steps" to "lessen the risk" of users encountering unlawful material on their platforms and to take down it promptly when they learn of it.
