Elon Musk's online network X has caused widespread backlash after users used its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to change images of females by removing their garments.
Numerous examples have emerged where the system has been employed to remove clothing from women to render them in bikinis without consent, as well as to place them in sexually explicit scenarios.
Developer Reaction and Regulatory Position
XAI, the firm that created Grok, remained silent to inquiries, except for an auto-reply response stating "legacy media lies".
A Home Office official stated that new laws is being introduced to prohibit nudification technology. Under a proposed criminal offence, anyone who supplied such tools would "receive a jail term and substantial penalties".
"The platform could prevent these types of abuse if they desired to," said a law professor, adding they "appear to enjoy impunity."
Oversight Body Stance and Platform Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said platforms must "evaluate the risk" of people viewing unlawful material on their services, but stopped short of confirming whether it was currently investigating X or Grok in concerning AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a free AI assistant—with some paid-for functions—which responds to X users' requests when they mention it in a message.
It is commonly used to offer commentary or additional background to other users' remarks, but people on X are also can modify an posted photo through its artificial intelligence picture modification function.
History of Controversy and Rules
The system has been criticised for enabling users to generate photos and footage with explicit content and sexualised material, and it was in the past alleged to have been involved in generating sexually explicit material of celebrities.
"X has been enabling the generation and distribution of these pictures for months without taking any action and we have yet to see any intervention by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy bans "depicting likenesses of individuals in a graphic way".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "generate or circulate non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and stated this applied to explicit AI images created with AI.
It said services such as X were obligated to take "necessary measures" to "reduce the danger" of users encountering unlawful content on their platforms and to take down it swiftly when they learn of it.
