Elon Musk's online platform X has caused significant backlash after individuals utilized its AI chatbot Grok to manipulate images of females by stripping their garments.
Multiple instances have emerged where the technology has been employed to virtually strip female subjects to render them in bikinis without consent, as well as to place them in sexually explicit situations.
Developer Reaction and Regulatory Stance
XAI, the company behind Grok, offered no comment to inquiries, other than an auto-reply response stating "legacy media lies".
A government official stated that new laws is being proposed to prohibit nudification technology. Under a proposed law, anyone who supplied such tools would "receive a jail term and heavy fines".
"The platform could prevent these forms of abuse if they chose to," said a law professor, adding they "appear to enjoy impunity."
Regulator Position and Platform Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "evaluate the risk" of people accessing illegal content on their platforms, but did not confirm whether it was currently examining X or Grok in regarding artificial intelligence images.
Grok is a no-cost chatbot—with some paid-for functions—which answers X users' queries when they mention it in a post.
It is often used to offer reactions or more background to other posters' comments, but people on X are also can edit an uploaded image through its artificial intelligence picture modification function.
Background of Controversy and Rules
The tool has been condemned for permitting users to produce images and clips with nudity and sexualised material, and it was in the past accused of making inappropriate content of public figures.
"The platform has been allowing the production and sharing of these pictures for months without taking any steps and we have not seen any challenge by oversight bodies," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy prohibits "showing images of individuals in a sexually explicit fashion".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was against the law to "generate or circulate non-consensual intimate images or child sexual abuse material" and confirmed this covered explicit AI images created with AI.
It said platforms such as X were obligated to take "necessary steps" to "minimize the risk" of users coming across illegal material on their services and to take down it quickly when they are notified of it.
