Elon Musk's social media network X has caused major backlash after users utilized its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to manipulate pictures of women by removing their attire.
Several instances have emerged where the tool has been employed to virtually strip female subjects to render them in bikinis non-consensually, as well as to place them in sexualized situations.
Developer Reaction and Legal Stance
XAI, the firm that created Grok, offered no comment to inquiries, other than an standard response stating "legacy media lies".
A Home Office official stated that new laws is being brought forward to outlaw image stripping tools. Under a proposed law, anyone who distributed such technology would "be subject to a jail term and substantial fines".
"X or Grok could prevent these forms of misuse if they desired to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "appear to enjoy a lack of consequences."
Oversight Body Position and Platform Capabilities
The communications watchdog Ofcom said platforms must "evaluate the danger" of people viewing unlawful material on their platforms, but did not specify whether it was currently looking into X or Grok in regarding AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a free artificial intelligence—with some premium functions—which answers X users' requests when they mention it in a tweet.
It is commonly used to offer reactions or further background to other users' comments, but people on X are also can edit an uploaded image through its AI image editing function.
Background of Criticism and Rules
The system has been criticised for permitting users to generate images and clips with explicit content and sexually suggestive content, and it was earlier alleged to have been involved in generating inappropriate material of public figures.
"The platform has been enabling the generation and sharing of these images for a long time without taking any steps and we have not seen any action by oversight bodies," the expert added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy bans "depicting likenesses of individuals in a sexually explicit fashion".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "create or distribute non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and stated this applied to sexual deepfakes generated with AI.
It said platforms such as X were required to take "appropriate actions" to "minimize the risk" of users encountering unlawful content on their services and to remove it quickly when they are notified of it.
