The online platform X has sparked widespread anger after people used its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to alter photos of women by taking off their clothing.
Several cases have surfaced where the tool has been used to digitally undress female subjects to render them in bikinis non-consensually, as well as to put them in inappropriate situations.
Developer Response and Regulatory Stance
XAI, the company behind Grok, offered no comment to inquiries, except for an standard message stating "legacy media lies".
A government spokesperson stated that new laws is being proposed to ban nudification software. Under a upcoming law, anyone who distributed such technology would "be subject to a prison sentence and heavy fines".
"X or Grok could prevent these forms of misuse if they desired to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "appear to enjoy impunity."
Oversight Body Stance and Tool Functionality
The communications watchdog Ofcom said platforms must "consider the risk" of people seeing unlawful material on their platforms, but stopped short of confirming whether it was currently investigating X or Grok in concerning AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a no-cost artificial intelligence—with some additional features—which answers X users' queries when they tag it in a message.
It is frequently used to give reactions or more background to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also able to alter an uploaded image through its artificial intelligence picture modification tool.
History of Controversy and Rules
The tool has been faulted for permitting users to produce pictures and footage with nudity and sexually suggestive material, and it was earlier accused of generating inappropriate content of public figures.
"The platform has been allowing the production and distribution of these images for a long time without taking any action and we have not witnessed any action by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy forbids "depicting likenesses of people in a pornographic manner".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "make or share non-consensual intimate images or child sexual abuse material" and confirmed this included sexual deepfakes made with AI.
It said platforms such as X were mandated to take "appropriate measures" to "minimize the danger" of users viewing illegal material on their platforms and to remove it promptly when they are notified of it.
