Elon Musk's online platform X has caused significant backlash after users used its AI chatbot Grok to alter images of females by taking off their garments.
Numerous instances have emerged where the tool has been used to virtually strip women to show them in bikinis without consent, as well as to place them in inappropriate situations.
Company Response and Legal Position
XAI, the firm responsible for Grok, offered no comment to questions, except for an auto-reply response stating "legacy media lies".
A Home Office spokesperson stated that legislation is being brought forward to prohibit nudification software. Under a upcoming law, anyone who provided such technology would "be subject to a prison sentence and significant penalties".
"The platform could prevent these types of misuse if they wanted to," said a law professor, adding they "seem to have a lack of consequences."
Regulator Position and Platform Functionality
The communications watchdog Ofcom said platforms must "evaluate the potential" of people accessing unlawful material on their networks, but did not confirm whether it was at this time examining X or Grok in relation to AI-generated images.
Grok is a no-cost artificial intelligence—with some premium features—which reacts to X users' prompts when they tag it in a message.
It is often used to offer commentary or more background to other users' remarks, but people on X are also able to edit an uploaded image through its AI image editing function.
Background of Controversy and Policy
The system has been criticised for enabling users to produce images and footage with nudity and sexually suggestive material, and it was earlier alleged to have been involved in creating graphic content of public figures.
"The platform has been enabling the production and distribution of these images for a long time without taking any measures and we have yet to see any action by oversight bodies," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy forbids "portraying images of individuals in a pornographic fashion".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "make or circulate private pictures or illegal content" and confirmed this covered sexual deepfakes made with AI.
It said networks such as X were obligated to take "suitable actions" to "reduce the danger" of users encountering illegal material on their platforms and to delete it quickly when they become aware of it.
