The social media network X has caused major outrage after people utilized its AI chatbot Grok to alter pictures of women by stripping their garments.
Several examples have been seen where the tool has been used to remove clothing from women to make them appear in swimwear without permission, as well as to place them in inappropriate situations.
Developer Reaction and Legal Position
XAI, the firm behind Grok, did not respond to inquiries, aside from an auto-reply response stating "legacy media lies".
A government official stated that new laws is being introduced to prohibit nudification tools. Under a new law, anyone who supplied such tools would "receive a jail term and heavy fines".
"X or Grok could prevent these types of abuse if they chose to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "appear to enjoy a lack of consequences."
Regulator Stance and Platform Functionality
The communications watchdog Ofcom said platforms must "evaluate the risk" of people accessing illegal content on their networks, but did not specify whether it was currently looking into X or Grok in concerning artificial intelligence images.
Grok is a free AI assistant—with some premium functions—which reacts to X users' queries when they tag it in a message.
It is commonly used to give reactions or more background to other users' comments, but people on X are also able to alter an posted image through its artificial intelligence picture modification feature.
Background of Criticism and Policy
The chatbot has been faulted for permitting users to create photos and footage with explicit content and sexually suggestive content, and it was in the past accused of making sexually explicit content of celebrities.
"X has been enabling the creation and distribution of these pictures for months without taking any measures and we have not witnessed any action by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy forbids "portraying likenesses of people in a graphic fashion".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was illegal to "make or circulate private pictures or illegal content" and clarified this included sexual deepfakes generated with AI.
It said networks such as X were mandated to take "appropriate actions" to "lessen the danger" of users coming across illegal content on their services and to delete it quickly when they learn of it.
