Elon Musk's online platform X has provoked significant backlash after users utilized its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to manipulate photos of females by removing their attire.
Numerous examples have surfaced where the technology has been used to remove clothing from women to render them in swimwear without consent, as well as to insert them in sexualized contexts.
Developer Reaction and Regulatory Position
XAI, the firm responsible for Grok, did not respond to inquiries, except for an auto-reply message stating "legacy media lies".
A Home Office official stated that new laws is being brought forward to prohibit image stripping software. Under a proposed law, anyone who provided such tools would "be subject to a prison sentence and substantial fines".
"X or Grok has the ability to stop these forms of misuse if they chose to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "seem to have impunity."
Regulator Position and Platform Functionality
The communications watchdog Ofcom said technology companies must "consider the danger" of people seeing unlawful material on their platforms, but stopped short of confirming whether it was at this time looking into X or Grok in regarding artificial intelligence pictures.
Grok is a no-cost AI assistant—with some additional features—which reacts to X users' prompts when they reference it in a message.
It is commonly used to give reactions or further context to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also able to edit an posted photo through its artificial intelligence picture modification tool.
Background of Controversy and Rules
The tool has been faulted for allowing users to produce images and footage with nudity and sexually suggestive content, and it was earlier alleged to have been involved in making sexually explicit content of public figures.
"X has been enabling the generation and distribution of these images for months without taking any steps and we have not witnessed any action by oversight bodies," the expert added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy prohibits "portraying likenesses of persons in a graphic fashion".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was against the law to "make or circulate private pictures or illegal content" and clarified this covered sexual deepfakes generated with AI.
It said networks such as X were required to take "suitable steps" to "reduce the danger" of users viewing unlawful material on their services and to delete it swiftly when they become aware of it.
