The online platform X has sparked widespread backlash after people utilized its AI chatbot Grok to alter pictures of females by stripping their attire.
Multiple examples have been seen where the tool has been used to virtually strip women to render them in bikinis without consent, as well as to put them in sexualized contexts.
Company Reaction and Regulatory Stance
XAI, the firm that created Grok, did not respond to inquiries, except for an standard message stating "legacy media lies".
A government official stated that new laws is being proposed to prohibit nudification tools. Under a upcoming law, anyone who provided such technology would "receive a jail term and heavy fines".
"The platform could prevent these types of misuse if they chose to," said a law professor, adding they "seem to have a lack of consequences."
Regulator Stance and Platform Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "evaluate the potential" of people viewing illegal content on their services, but did not specify whether it was at this time looking into X or Grok in relation to artificial intelligence images.
Grok is a no-cost chatbot—with some premium features—which reacts to X users' requests when they tag it in a message.
It is frequently used to offer commentary or more context to other users' comments, but people on X are also can alter an posted image through its artificial intelligence picture modification tool.
History of Controversy and Rules
The tool has been criticised for allowing users to generate images and clips with nudity and sexualised material, and it was in the past accused of generating graphic material of public figures.
"The platform has been allowing the creation and spread of these pictures for months without taking any action and we have yet to see any action by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy prohibits "showing likenesses of people in a sexually explicit way".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was illegal to "create or share private pictures or illegal content" and stated this included sexual deepfakes made with AI.
It said services such as X were obligated to take "necessary steps" to "lessen the danger" of users coming across unlawful material on their platforms and to take down it quickly when they learn of it.
