The social media platform X has caused widespread backlash after individuals utilized its AI chatbot Grok to change photos of women by stripping their garments.
Several examples have emerged where the system has been used to remove clothing from women to render them in swimwear non-consensually, as well as to put them in sexually explicit scenarios.
Developer Response and Regulatory Position
XAI, the firm that created Grok, did not respond to questions, except for an standard message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A Home Office representative stated that legislation is being proposed to prohibit nudification technology. Under a new criminal offence, anyone who supplied such technology would "receive a jail term and significant penalties".
"The platform has the ability to stop these types of abuse if they desired to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "operate with a lack of consequences."
Regulator Position and Platform Functionality
The communications watchdog Ofcom said technology companies must "evaluate the risk" of people seeing illegal content on their platforms, but stopped short of confirming whether it was at this time investigating X or Grok in concerning AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a free artificial intelligence—with some paid-for functions—which responds to X users' requests when they mention it in a tweet.
It is frequently used to offer reactions or additional context to other users' remarks, but people on X are also able to alter an posted image through its AI image editing function.
Background of Criticism and Policy
The system has been condemned for permitting users to generate pictures and footage with explicit content and sexualised content, and it was in the past alleged to have been involved in creating graphic material of public figures.
"The platform has been permitting the generation and sharing of these images for months without taking any measures and we have yet to see any action by oversight bodies," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own terms of service prohibits "portraying images of persons in a graphic fashion".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was against the law to "create or circulate non-consensual intimate images or child sexual abuse material" and stated this applied to explicit AI images made with AI.
It said services such as X were mandated to take "suitable actions" to "reduce the danger" of users encountering unlawful material on their services and to remove it quickly when they learn of it.
