The online network X has caused significant outrage after users utilized its AI chatbot Grok to change pictures of women by stripping their clothing.
Numerous instances have emerged where the technology has been employed to virtually strip female subjects to show them in bikinis without permission, as well as to put them in sexualized contexts.
Developer Response and Legal Position
XAI, the company that created Grok, remained silent to inquiries, other than an automatically-generated message stating "legacy media lies".
A Home Office official stated that new laws is being proposed to outlaw image stripping technology. Under a upcoming criminal offence, anyone who provided such technology would "face a prison sentence and significant fines".
"The platform is capable of halting these forms of abuse if they chose to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "operate with impunity."
Oversight Body Stance and Platform Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "evaluate the danger" of people viewing unlawful material on their networks, but did not specify whether it was at this time investigating X or Grok in relation to AI-generated images.
Grok is a free artificial intelligence—with some premium functions—which answers X users' queries when they reference it in a tweet.
It is often used to offer commentary or additional background to other users' remarks, but people on X are also able to modify an posted picture through its AI image editing feature.
History of Controversy and Policy
The chatbot has been condemned for enabling users to create photos and clips with explicit content and sexualised content, and it was in the past accused of making sexually explicit content of celebrities.
"X has been allowing the creation and distribution of these pictures for a long time without taking any measures and we have yet to see any challenge by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy bans "depicting images of individuals in a graphic fashion".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was against the law to "create or circulate deepfakes or illegal content" and clarified this applied to explicit AI images made with AI.
It said platforms such as X were mandated to take "necessary actions" to "lessen the danger" of users coming across unlawful material on their services and to take down it quickly when they are notified of it.
