The online network X has provoked widespread anger after users used its AI chatbot Grok to change photos of females by stripping their attire.
Numerous cases have emerged where the tool has been used to remove clothing from women to show them in swimwear without permission, as well as to put them in sexually explicit situations.
Developer Response and Legal Position
XAI, the firm responsible for Grok, did not respond to inquiries, other than an auto-reply message stating "legacy media lies".
A government official stated that legislation is being proposed to ban nudification tools. Under a upcoming law, anyone who provided such technology would "be subject to a prison sentence and substantial penalties".
"The platform has the ability to stop these forms of abuse if they desired to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "operate with impunity."
Regulator Position and Platform Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said platforms must "consider the danger" of people viewing illegal content on their networks, but did not confirm whether it was at this time looking into X or Grok in relation to AI-generated images.
Grok is a free chatbot—with some additional features—which responds to X users' queries when they tag it in a tweet.
It is frequently used to give commentary or further context to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also able to modify an uploaded image through its AI image editing function.
Background of Controversy and Policy
The system has been criticised for permitting users to generate photos and clips with explicit content and sexually suggestive material, and it was previously accused of creating inappropriate material of public figures.
"X has been permitting the production and spread of these pictures for a long time without taking any measures and we have yet to see any action by oversight bodies," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy bans "portraying images of individuals in a graphic manner".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "generate or circulate deepfakes or illegal content" and confirmed this covered explicit AI images generated with AI.
It said platforms such as X were obligated to take "appropriate measures" to "reduce the risk" of users encountering unlawful material on their platforms and to delete it quickly when they learn of it.
