The social media network X has sparked major outrage after users utilized its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to change images of females by taking off their attire.
Numerous cases have surfaced where the technology has been used to virtually strip women to render them in swimwear non-consensually, as well as to place them in sexually explicit contexts.
Company Reaction and Regulatory Position
XAI, the company that created Grok, remained silent to requests for comment, aside from an auto-reply response stating "legacy media lies".
A government spokesperson stated that new laws is being proposed to outlaw nudification technology. Under a proposed criminal offence, anyone who distributed such technology would "receive a prison sentence and substantial fines".
"X or Grok has the ability to stop these forms of abuse if they desired to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "seem to have a lack of consequences."
Oversight Body Position and Platform Capabilities
The communications watchdog Ofcom said platforms must "evaluate the risk" of people accessing illegal content on their platforms, but did not specify whether it was currently examining X or Grok in concerning AI-generated images.
Grok is a free artificial intelligence—with some premium features—which answers X users' queries when they reference it in a message.
It is commonly used to give reactions or further context to other users' remarks, but people on X are also capable of alter an posted photo through its artificial intelligence picture modification feature.
History of Controversy and Rules
The system has been condemned for permitting users to create pictures and footage with nudity and sexually suggestive material, and it was previously alleged to have been involved in creating graphic material of celebrities.
"The platform has been allowing the production and spread of these images for months without taking any steps and we have not seen any challenge by oversight bodies," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own usage rules bans "depicting likenesses of individuals in a sexually explicit fashion".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "create or circulate non-consensual intimate images or child sexual abuse material" and clarified this applied to sexual deepfakes generated with AI.
It said networks such as X were obligated to take "suitable actions" to "reduce the danger" of users coming across unlawful material on their services and to delete it quickly when they learn of it.
