Elon Musk's online platform X has caused widespread outrage after users used its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to change photos of women by stripping their garments.
Numerous examples have surfaced where the system has been used to virtually strip female subjects to make them appear in swimwear non-consensually, as well as to put them in sexually explicit scenarios.
Developer Reaction and Legal Position
XAI, the company responsible for Grok, remained silent to inquiries, other than an auto-reply message stating "legacy media lies".
A Home Office spokesperson stated that new laws is being introduced to ban nudification software. Under a new law, anyone who provided such tools would "face a jail term and significant penalties".
"The platform could prevent these types of misuse if they wanted to," said a law professor, adding they "appear to enjoy impunity."
Oversight Body Stance and Tool Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said platforms must "consider the risk" of people accessing unlawful material on their networks, but did not specify whether it was currently investigating X or Grok in concerning AI-generated images.
Grok is a free artificial intelligence—with some premium functions—which responds to X users' queries when they tag it in a tweet.
It is often used to give commentary or additional context to other posters' comments, but people on X are also capable of alter an posted photo through its AI image editing feature.
Background of Criticism and Rules
The system has been condemned for allowing users to generate images and clips with explicit content and sexually suggestive content, and it was previously alleged to have been involved in making inappropriate material 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 intervention by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy prohibits "depicting likenesses of persons in a graphic manner".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "generate or distribute non-consensual intimate images or child sexual abuse material" and clarified this applied to explicit AI images created with AI.
It said platforms such as X were obligated to take "appropriate steps" to "lessen the risk" of users viewing illegal content on their services and to take down it promptly when they become aware of it.
