The social media platform X has sparked major backlash after individuals utilized its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to manipulate photos of females by removing their clothing.
Multiple cases have emerged where the technology has been used to virtually strip women to render them in swimwear without permission, as well as to place them in sexualized contexts.
Developer Response and Regulatory Position
XAI, the company responsible for Grok, did not respond to questions, except for an automatically-generated message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A Home Office representative stated that new laws is being brought forward to outlaw nudification tools. Under a new law, anyone who provided such tools would "receive a prison sentence and substantial fines".
"The platform has the ability to stop these types of abuse if they chose to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "appear to enjoy impunity."
Oversight Body Position and Tool Functionality
The communications watchdog Ofcom said technology companies must "consider the potential" of people viewing unlawful material on their services, but did not confirm whether it was presently investigating X or Grok in relation to artificial intelligence pictures.
Grok is a no-cost AI assistant—with some premium functions—which responds to X users' queries when they mention it in a message.
It is often used to offer commentary 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 function.
History of Controversy and Rules
The tool has been condemned for permitting users to generate images and clips with nudity and sexually suggestive material, and it was previously accused of generating sexually explicit content of celebrities.
"The platform has been allowing the production and spread of these images for months without taking any measures and we have yet to see any action by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own usage rules forbids "portraying likenesses of people in a pornographic way".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "make or circulate deepfakes or child sexual abuse material" and stated this included sexual deepfakes generated with AI.
It said platforms such as X were mandated to take "necessary steps" to "minimize the danger" of users coming across unlawful material on their platforms and to delete it quickly when they learn of it.
