Elon Musk's online platform X has caused significant outrage after people utilized its AI chatbot Grok to change images of women by taking off their garments.
Multiple instances have been seen where the technology has been used to digitally undress female subjects to make them appear in bikinis without consent, as well as to put them in sexualized scenarios.
Company Response and Legal Stance
XAI, the company that created Grok, offered no comment to questions, other than an automatically-generated response stating "legacy media lies".
A government spokesperson stated that new laws is being proposed to outlaw image stripping software. Under a upcoming law, anyone who provided such technology would "face a prison sentence and significant fines".
"The platform is capable of halting these types of misuse if they wanted to," said a law professor, adding they "appear to enjoy a lack of consequences."
Oversight Body Position and Tool Capabilities
The communications watchdog Ofcom said technology companies must "assess the potential" of people accessing unlawful material on their networks, but did not specify whether it was presently looking into X or Grok in concerning AI-generated images.
Grok is a free AI assistant—with some premium functions—which answers X users' requests when they reference it in a post.
It is frequently used to give reactions or more background to other posters' comments, but people on X are also capable of modify an uploaded image through its artificial intelligence picture modification function.
Background of Controversy and Policy
The tool has been condemned for enabling users to produce photos and footage with nudity and sexually suggestive material, and it was in the past alleged to have been involved in making graphic material of celebrities.
"The platform has been allowing the creation and spread of these images for a long time without taking any steps and we have yet to see any intervention by oversight bodies," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy prohibits "depicting images of individuals in a pornographic manner".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "make or share deepfakes or child sexual abuse material" and stated this included sexual deepfakes created with AI.
It said platforms such as X were required to take "appropriate actions" to "reduce the risk" of users encountering unlawful material on their platforms and to take down it promptly when they become aware of it.
