Elon Musk's social media network X has provoked major backlash after users used its AI chatbot Grok to change images of women by removing their clothing.
Numerous instances have emerged where the system has been used to remove clothing from women to make them appear in bikinis without consent, as well as to put them in inappropriate situations.
Company Reaction and Regulatory Stance
XAI, the company responsible for Grok, did not respond to questions, other than an standard message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A government spokesperson stated that new laws is being brought forward to prohibit image stripping technology. Under a new criminal offence, anyone who distributed such technology would "face a jail term and substantial fines".
"X or Grok has the ability to stop these types of abuse if they chose to," said a law professor, adding they "operate with impunity."
Oversight Body Stance and Platform Functionality
The communications watchdog Ofcom said technology companies must "assess the potential" of people viewing illegal content on their networks, but did not confirm whether it was presently looking into X or Grok in regarding AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a free AI assistant—with some premium functions—which responds to X users' prompts when they tag it in a tweet.
It is often used to offer commentary or more context to other users' remarks, but people on X are also capable of alter an posted image through its AI image editing function.
Background of Criticism and Rules
The chatbot has been faulted for allowing users to generate photos and videos with nudity and sexually suggestive content, and it was earlier alleged to have been involved in creating inappropriate content of public figures.
"X has been enabling the production and distribution of these images for a long time without taking any action and we have not seen any action by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own terms of service forbids "showing images of persons in a pornographic fashion".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was illegal to "generate or share private pictures or child sexual abuse material" and clarified this included sexual deepfakes made with AI.
It said services such as X were mandated to take "suitable steps" to "minimize the risk" of users coming across illegal material on their services and to remove it promptly when they are notified of it.
