The online platform X has provoked widespread outrage after users utilized its AI chatbot Grok to alter images of women by removing their garments.
Numerous examples have surfaced where the tool has been employed to remove clothing from women to render them in swimwear non-consensually, as well as to insert them in sexualized situations.
Company Response and Regulatory Position
XAI, the company behind Grok, remained silent to requests for comment, except for an auto-reply message stating "legacy media lies".
A Home Office spokesperson stated that legislation is being introduced to prohibit image stripping tools. Under a new law, anyone who provided such technology would "be subject to a prison sentence and significant fines".
"X or Grok could prevent these forms of misuse if they wanted to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "operate with a lack of consequences."
Regulator Position and Tool Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said technology companies must "assess the risk" of people seeing unlawful material on their networks, but did not confirm whether it was currently investigating X or Grok in relation to artificial intelligence images.
Grok is a no-cost chatbot—with some paid-for functions—which reacts to X users' prompts when they reference it in a message.
It is commonly used to offer commentary or further background to other users' remarks, but people on X are also able to edit an posted photo through its artificial intelligence picture modification function.
Background of Criticism and Rules
The system has been faulted for allowing users to produce photos and footage with explicit content and sexually suggestive content, and it was earlier alleged to have been involved in creating sexually explicit content of public figures.
"X has been enabling the generation and sharing of these pictures for months without taking any steps and we have not witnessed any intervention by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own usage rules bans "portraying likenesses of individuals in a pornographic manner".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "make or distribute deepfakes or illegal content" and clarified this covered sexual deepfakes created with AI.
It said platforms such as X were mandated to take "appropriate measures" to "reduce the risk" of users viewing illegal material on their services and to remove it swiftly when they are notified of it.
