Elon Musk's online platform X has caused major outrage after users used its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to change photos of women by removing their garments.
Multiple instances have surfaced where the system has been used to remove clothing from female subjects to make them appear in bikinis without permission, as well as to place them in inappropriate scenarios.
Developer Reaction and Regulatory Position
XAI, the firm responsible for Grok, did not respond to requests for comment, other than an standard response stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A government representative stated that legislation is being introduced to outlaw nudification tools. Under a proposed criminal offence, anyone who supplied such tools would "receive a prison sentence and substantial penalties".
"The platform is capable of halting these types of abuse if they wanted to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "seem to have impunity."
Oversight Body Stance and Platform Capabilities
The communications watchdog Ofcom said platforms must "consider the risk" of people accessing illegal content on their networks, but did not confirm whether it was presently examining X or Grok in concerning artificial intelligence images.
Grok is a no-cost AI assistant—with some additional features—which answers X users' prompts when they tag it in a message.
It is commonly used to give commentary or further context to other users' remarks, but people on X are also able to alter an posted picture through its AI image editing tool.
Background of Criticism and Rules
The tool has been faulted for enabling users to create photos and footage with nudity and sexualised content, and it was previously accused of generating sexually explicit content of public figures.
"X has been allowing the creation and sharing of these images for months without taking any measures and we have not witnessed any challenge by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own usage rules forbids "portraying likenesses of persons in a graphic manner".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was illegal to "generate or circulate non-consensual intimate images or child sexual abuse material" and stated this applied to sexual deepfakes generated with AI.
It said services such as X were obligated to take "suitable measures" to "minimize the risk" of users encountering illegal material on their platforms and to remove it promptly when they are notified of it.
