Elon Musk's online network X has sparked widespread outrage after individuals utilized its AI chatbot Grok to manipulate photos of women by removing their clothing.
Several examples have surfaced where the tool has been used to digitally undress women to make them appear in swimwear without permission, as well as to put them in sexually explicit scenarios.
Developer Reaction and Legal Stance
XAI, the firm responsible for Grok, offered no comment to inquiries, aside from an auto-reply message stating "legacy media lies".
A government representative stated that legislation is being introduced to outlaw image stripping software. Under a upcoming criminal offence, anyone who distributed such tools would "receive a jail term and substantial penalties".
"The platform has the ability to stop these forms of abuse if they desired to," said a law professor, adding they "appear to enjoy a lack of consequences."
Regulator Position and Tool Capabilities
The communications watchdog Ofcom said tech firms must "evaluate the potential" of people accessing illegal content on their services, but did not confirm whether it was currently examining X or Grok in concerning artificial intelligence pictures.
Grok is a no-cost AI assistant—with some paid-for features—which answers X users' prompts when they mention it in a message.
It is commonly used to offer commentary or further context to other users' comments, but people on X are also able to modify an uploaded picture through its artificial intelligence picture modification function.
History of Criticism and Rules
The system has been faulted for enabling users to produce photos and footage with nudity and sexually suggestive material, and it was earlier accused of generating sexually explicit material of public figures.
"X has been allowing the generation and distribution of these images for months without taking any measures and we have not witnessed any challenge by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own terms of service forbids "portraying likenesses of persons in a sexually explicit fashion".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was illegal to "make or share non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and clarified this included sexual deepfakes generated with AI.
It said networks such as X were mandated to take "appropriate actions" to "reduce the danger" of users encountering illegal material on their platforms and to remove it quickly when they are notified of it.
