Elon Musk's online platform X has caused major outrage after people utilized its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to alter images of women by taking off their attire.
Multiple cases have emerged where the technology has been employed to virtually strip women to make them appear in swimwear without permission, as well as to put them in inappropriate scenarios.
Developer Response and Legal Stance
XAI, the firm that created Grok, offered no comment to questions, except for an standard message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A Home Office spokesperson stated that new laws is being brought forward to prohibit nudification tools. Under a proposed law, anyone who distributed such tools would "face a jail term and substantial penalties".
"The platform has the ability to stop these forms of abuse if they wanted to," said a law professor, adding they "seem to have a lack of consequences."
Regulator Position and Platform Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "consider the potential" of people accessing illegal content on their networks, but did not confirm whether it was presently investigating X or Grok in relation to AI-generated images.
Grok is a free chatbot—with some paid-for features—which responds to X users' queries when they reference it in a post.
It is commonly used to offer reactions or additional background to other posters' comments, but people on X are also can modify an posted photo through its artificial intelligence picture modification feature.
History of Controversy and Rules
The tool has been faulted for allowing users to generate photos and footage with nudity and sexualised content, and it was in the past alleged to have been involved in creating sexually explicit content of public figures.
"X has been enabling the creation and distribution of these images for a long time without taking any steps and we have not witnessed any challenge by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own usage rules forbids "showing images of individuals in a graphic manner".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "create or circulate deepfakes or illegal content" and confirmed this applied to sexual deepfakes created with AI.
It said platforms such as X were mandated to take "suitable actions" to "lessen the danger" of users viewing unlawful content on their services and to take down it promptly when they are notified of it.
