The online platform X has caused major anger after people employed its AI chatbot Grok to alter images of women by taking off their garments.
Multiple examples have surfaced where the system has been employed to virtually strip women to show them in bikinis without permission, as well as to put them in sexually explicit situations.
Developer Response and Legal Stance
XAI, the firm responsible for Grok, offered no comment to inquiries, aside from an auto-reply message stating "legacy media lies".
A government spokesperson stated that legislation is being introduced to prohibit image stripping software. Under a upcoming criminal offence, anyone who supplied such tools would "face a jail term and significant penalties".
"X or Grok is capable of halting these forms of abuse if they wanted to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "operate with impunity."
Oversight Body Position and Tool Functionality
The communications watchdog Ofcom said platforms must "evaluate the danger" of people seeing unlawful material on their platforms, but did not confirm whether it was currently investigating X or Grok in regarding artificial intelligence images.
Grok is a no-cost chatbot—with some paid-for features—which answers X users' queries when they reference it in a tweet.
It is frequently used to provide reactions or further context to other posters' comments, but people on X are also capable of alter an posted picture through its AI image editing tool.
History of Criticism and Rules
The chatbot has been faulted for allowing users to produce photos and footage with explicit content and sexually suggestive material, and it was earlier alleged to have been involved in generating inappropriate content of public figures.
"X has been permitting the creation and spread of these pictures for months without taking any steps and we have not seen any challenge by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy forbids "portraying likenesses of individuals in a pornographic manner".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was illegal to "make or distribute non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and confirmed this applied to explicit AI images generated with AI.
It said networks such as X were obligated to take "suitable steps" to "lessen the risk" of users coming across illegal content on their platforms and to remove it swiftly when they become aware of it.
