Elon Musk's social media platform X has provoked widespread backlash after users employed its AI chatbot Grok to change pictures of women by taking off their garments.
Multiple examples have surfaced where the system has been employed to digitally undress women to show them in bikinis without consent, as well as to insert them in sexually explicit situations.
Developer Response and Legal Position
XAI, the organization behind Grok, remained silent to questions, other than an auto-reply message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A Home Office official stated that legislation is being introduced to prohibit nudification software. Under a proposed law, anyone who provided such tools would "face a prison sentence and heavy penalties".
"X or Grok is capable of halting these forms of misuse if they chose to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "operate with impunity."
Regulator Position and Platform Capabilities
The communications watchdog Ofcom said platforms must "evaluate the potential" of people accessing unlawful material on their platforms, but did not confirm whether it was currently investigating X or Grok in concerning artificial intelligence pictures.
Grok is a free AI assistant—with some additional features—which reacts to X users' prompts when they mention it in a message.
It is often used to give commentary or further context to other users' remarks, but people on X are also capable of alter an posted picture through its artificial intelligence picture modification function.
Background of Criticism and Policy
The tool has been condemned for permitting users to create pictures and clips with nudity and sexualised material, and it was previously alleged to have been involved in creating inappropriate material of public figures.
"The platform has been allowing the creation and sharing of these pictures for a long time without taking any steps and we have yet to see any challenge by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy bans "portraying likenesses of individuals in a pornographic manner".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was against the law to "make or circulate non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and stated this applied to explicit AI images made with AI.
It said networks such as X were required to take "necessary steps" to "minimize the risk" of users viewing illegal material on their services and to take down it quickly when they learn of it.
