The online network X has provoked widespread anger after users utilized its AI chatbot Grok to change pictures of women by stripping their clothing.
Numerous instances have emerged where the system has been used to virtually strip women to make them appear in bikinis without permission, as well as to insert them in inappropriate situations.
Company Response and Legal Stance
XAI, the firm responsible for Grok, remained silent to inquiries, aside from an automatically-generated message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A government spokesperson stated that new laws is being proposed to outlaw image stripping technology. Under a upcoming criminal offence, anyone who distributed such technology would "receive a prison sentence and heavy penalties".
"The platform is capable of halting these types of misuse if they chose to," said a law professor, adding they "appear to enjoy a lack of consequences."
Oversight Body Stance and Tool Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said platforms must "assess the risk" of people viewing unlawful material on their networks, but stopped short of confirming whether it was currently looking into X or Grok in regarding AI-generated images.
Grok is a free chatbot—with some paid-for functions—which responds to X users' prompts when they tag it in a tweet.
It is often used to give reactions or more context to other users' remarks, but people on X are also can edit an uploaded photo through its AI image editing feature.
Background of Controversy and Policy
The chatbot has been condemned for allowing users to generate photos and footage with nudity and sexualised material, and it was in the past alleged to have been involved in generating sexually explicit content of public figures.
"The platform has been allowing the production and sharing of these pictures for months without taking any action and we have not witnessed any challenge by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own terms of service forbids "showing likenesses of persons in a pornographic fashion".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was illegal to "create or distribute deepfakes or child sexual abuse material" and stated this included sexual deepfakes generated with AI.
It said platforms such as X were required to take "appropriate steps" to "minimize the danger" of users encountering illegal content on their platforms and to take down it swiftly when they become aware of it.
