The online network X has provoked significant outrage after individuals used its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to alter images of females by removing their garments.
Multiple examples have been seen where the system has been employed to virtually strip women to render them in swimwear without permission, as well as to put them in sexually explicit situations.
Developer Reaction and Regulatory Stance
XAI, the organization that created Grok, remained silent to requests for comment, aside from an standard message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A Home Office representative stated that new laws is being proposed to ban nudification software. Under a upcoming criminal offence, anyone who supplied such technology would "be subject to a jail term and significant fines".
"The platform has the ability to stop these types of misuse if they wanted to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "operate with impunity."
Regulator Stance and Platform Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said platforms must "evaluate the danger" of people seeing unlawful material on their services, but stopped short of confirming whether it was currently looking into X or Grok in regarding AI-generated images.
Grok is a no-cost AI assistant—with some paid-for features—which responds to X users' prompts when they tag it in a tweet.
It is frequently used to provide commentary or additional context to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also capable of edit an posted picture through its AI image editing feature.
Background of Criticism and Rules
The tool has been criticised for enabling users to create images and videos with nudity and sexually suggestive material, and it was previously accused of making sexually explicit content of public figures.
"The platform has been enabling the production and distribution of these images for months without taking any steps and we have not seen any intervention by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy forbids "showing images of people in a graphic fashion".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was illegal to "make or share private pictures or illegal content" and confirmed this applied to explicit AI images created with AI.
It said networks such as X were required to take "appropriate measures" to "minimize the danger" of users coming across unlawful content on their platforms and to remove it quickly when they learn of it.
