The online platform X has sparked significant outrage after individuals employed its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to alter photos of females by taking off their clothing.
Numerous examples have emerged where the tool has been used to remove clothing from female subjects to render them in swimwear without consent, as well as to insert them in sexually explicit scenarios.
Developer Response and Regulatory Stance
XAI, the company behind Grok, remained silent to inquiries, other than an standard response stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A government spokesperson stated that new laws is being introduced to outlaw image stripping tools. Under a upcoming criminal offence, anyone who distributed such tools would "be subject to a prison sentence and substantial fines".
"X or Grok has the ability to stop these forms of abuse if they chose to," said a law professor, adding they "appear to enjoy impunity."
Regulator Stance and Platform Capabilities
The communications watchdog Ofcom said platforms must "evaluate the potential" of people accessing illegal content on their platforms, but did not confirm whether it was at this time investigating X or Grok in concerning artificial intelligence images.
Grok is a free AI assistant—with some premium functions—which reacts to X users' requests when they reference it in a tweet.
It is frequently used to offer reactions or more context to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also can edit an uploaded image through its AI image editing feature.
History of Criticism and Rules
The system has been faulted for permitting users to create images and videos with nudity and sexualised content, and it was previously accused of generating graphic content of public figures.
"X has been permitting the generation and sharing of these pictures for months without taking any action and we have not seen any action by oversight bodies," the expert added.
XAI's own usage rules prohibits "portraying images of persons in a graphic manner".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was illegal to "make or share non-consensual intimate images or child sexual abuse material" and confirmed this covered sexual deepfakes created with AI.
It said services such as X were required to take "appropriate actions" to "minimize the risk" of users encountering unlawful content on their platforms and to take down it swiftly when they become aware of it.
