The online network X has sparked widespread backlash after people used its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to manipulate images of women by stripping their garments.
Numerous examples have emerged where the technology has been employed to digitally undress female subjects to render them in swimwear without permission, as well as to insert them in inappropriate situations.
Company Reaction and Legal Stance
XAI, the organization responsible for Grok, remained silent to inquiries, other than an automatically-generated response stating "legacy media lies".
A government representative stated that legislation is being proposed to outlaw nudification software. Under a proposed law, anyone who distributed such technology would "be subject to a jail term and significant fines".
"The platform has the ability to stop these forms of misuse if they wanted to," said a law professor, adding they "operate with a lack of consequences."
Oversight Body Stance and Tool Functionality
The communications watchdog Ofcom said tech firms must "evaluate the danger" of people viewing illegal content on their platforms, but did not specify whether it was currently looking into X or Grok in concerning AI-generated images.
Grok is a free artificial intelligence—with some premium functions—which reacts to X users' requests when they reference it in a post.
It is often used to provide commentary or further context to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also can alter an posted image through its AI image editing feature.
History of Criticism and Rules
The tool has been criticised for permitting users to produce images and footage with nudity and sexually suggestive material, and it was earlier accused of creating sexually explicit content of celebrities.
"X has been allowing the generation 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 prohibits "showing likenesses of persons in a pornographic way".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "create or distribute private pictures or child sexual abuse material" and confirmed this covered sexual deepfakes generated with AI.
It said networks such as X were required to take "appropriate actions" to "lessen the danger" of users coming across illegal content on their platforms and to remove it swiftly when they are notified of it.
