The social media network X has caused widespread anger after individuals used its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to change pictures of women by removing their attire.
Multiple cases have been seen where the tool has been used to remove clothing from female subjects to render them in swimwear without consent, as well as to insert them in sexualized contexts.
Developer Reaction and Regulatory Stance
XAI, the company responsible for Grok, did not respond to questions, other than an auto-reply response stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A government official stated that legislation is being proposed to ban nudification technology. Under a new law, anyone who distributed such tools would "receive a prison sentence and substantial penalties".
"X or Grok could prevent these types of abuse if they desired to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "appear to enjoy a lack of consequences."
Oversight Body Position and Tool Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said technology companies must "assess the danger" of people accessing illegal content on their networks, but did not confirm whether it was currently examining X or Grok in relation to artificial intelligence images.
Grok is a free AI assistant—with some premium functions—which answers X users' queries when they reference it in a tweet.
It is often used to offer reactions or additional context to other users' comments, but people on X are also capable of alter an uploaded image through its AI image editing function.
History of Controversy and Rules
The system has been faulted for enabling users to produce pictures and footage with nudity and sexually suggestive content, and it was in the past alleged to have been involved in generating graphic content of public figures.
"The platform has been enabling the generation and distribution of these images for months without taking any steps and we have not witnessed any challenge by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy prohibits "showing likenesses of individuals in a pornographic manner".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was illegal to "generate or circulate private pictures or illegal content" and confirmed this applied to sexual deepfakes generated with AI.
It said services such as X were obligated to take "appropriate measures" to "reduce the danger" of users viewing unlawful content on their platforms and to remove it quickly when they become aware of it.
