Elon Musk's social media platform X has caused major outrage after individuals employed its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to manipulate photos of females by stripping their attire.
Numerous instances have emerged where the technology has been employed to remove clothing from female subjects to show them in bikinis without consent, as well as to insert them in sexualized situations.
Developer Reaction and Regulatory Position
XAI, the organization behind Grok, did not respond to questions, except for an standard message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A government spokesperson stated that legislation is being introduced to prohibit image stripping software. Under a upcoming law, anyone who provided such tools would "be subject to a jail term and significant fines".
"X or Grok is capable of halting these forms of abuse if they wanted to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "seem to have impunity."
Regulator Stance and Tool Capabilities
The communications watchdog Ofcom said tech firms must "evaluate the potential" of people viewing illegal content on their platforms, but did not specify whether it was presently investigating X or Grok in concerning AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a no-cost artificial intelligence—with some paid-for functions—which responds to X users' requests when they mention it in a message.
It is frequently used to give commentary or more context to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also able to alter an posted photo through its AI image editing feature.
Background of Criticism and Rules
The tool has been faulted for permitting users to create pictures and clips with nudity and sexualised content, and it was in the past alleged to have been involved in making sexually explicit content of public figures.
"X has been permitting the generation and distribution of these pictures for a long time without taking any steps and we have not seen any challenge by oversight bodies," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy bans "showing likenesses of persons in a pornographic manner".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was against the law to "make or share non-consensual intimate images or child sexual abuse material" and stated this included sexual deepfakes created with AI.
It said services such as X were mandated to take "appropriate measures" to "lessen the danger" of users viewing unlawful material on their services and to remove it promptly when they are notified of it.
