The online network X has caused major backlash after people employed its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to manipulate pictures of women by taking off their attire.
Multiple examples have emerged where the tool has been employed to remove clothing from female subjects to render them in swimwear non-consensually, as well as to insert them in sexualized contexts.
Developer Reaction and Legal Stance
XAI, the organization behind Grok, offered no comment to inquiries, other than an standard response stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A Home Office official stated that legislation is being introduced to prohibit image stripping technology. Under a proposed law, anyone who provided such technology would "receive a prison sentence and substantial penalties".
"X or Grok has the ability to stop these types of misuse if they chose to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "appear to enjoy impunity."
Oversight Body Stance and Tool Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "evaluate the danger" of people viewing 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 no-cost artificial intelligence—with some premium features—which reacts to X users' requests when they mention it in a message.
It is commonly used to offer commentary or more context to other users' remarks, but people on X are also can alter an posted picture through its artificial intelligence picture modification feature.
History of Controversy and Policy
The tool has been criticised for enabling users to create photos and footage with explicit content and sexually suggestive material, and it was previously alleged to have been involved in generating inappropriate material of public figures.
"X has been allowing the generation and distribution of these pictures for a long time without taking any measures and we have not witnessed any action by oversight bodies," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own terms of service bans "showing images of individuals in a pornographic fashion".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was illegal to "create or circulate deepfakes or illegal content" and confirmed this applied to sexual deepfakes generated with AI.
It said networks such as X were required to take "suitable actions" to "reduce the danger" of users viewing illegal material on their services and to delete it quickly when they become aware of it.
