The social media network X has sparked widespread outrage after users used its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to alter pictures of females by removing their clothing.
Numerous examples have been seen where the tool has been used to remove clothing from female subjects to render them in swimwear without consent, as well as to put them in sexualized situations.
Company Reaction and Regulatory Position
XAI, the firm behind Grok, did not respond to requests for comment, other than an standard message stating "legacy media lies".
A Home Office spokesperson stated that new laws is being brought forward to outlaw nudification software. Under a new criminal offence, anyone who provided such technology would "receive a prison sentence and substantial penalties".
"The platform has the ability to stop these types of misuse if they desired to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "seem to have impunity."
Regulator Position and Platform Capabilities
The communications watchdog Ofcom said technology companies must "evaluate the potential" of people viewing illegal content on their services, but stopped short of confirming whether it was presently investigating X or Grok in relation to AI-generated images.
Grok is a free artificial intelligence—with some additional functions—which reacts to X users' prompts when they mention it in a message.
It is commonly used to offer commentary or more context to other users' comments, but people on X are also can edit an posted image through its AI image editing tool.
History of Criticism and Policy
The system has been criticised for permitting users to generate images and videos with nudity and sexualised content, and it was in the past accused of creating graphic content of celebrities.
"X has been allowing the generation and sharing of these images for a long time without taking any steps and we have not witnessed any intervention by oversight bodies," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy prohibits "portraying images of people in a graphic manner".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "create or share non-consensual intimate images or child sexual abuse material" and confirmed this applied to sexual deepfakes generated with AI.
It said networks such as X were obligated to take "appropriate actions" to "reduce the danger" of users viewing illegal material on their services and to remove it promptly when they are notified of it.
