The social media network X has provoked widespread outrage after people employed its AI chatbot Grok to change pictures of females by stripping their garments.
Multiple instances have been seen where the system has been used to digitally undress female subjects to make them appear in swimwear without permission, as well as to place them in inappropriate scenarios.
Company Response and Regulatory Position
XAI, the organization that created Grok, did not respond to requests for comment, except for an automatically-generated message stating "legacy media lies".
A government representative stated that new laws is being introduced to outlaw nudification tools. Under a new law, anyone who supplied such tools would "be subject to a prison sentence and substantial fines".
"The platform has the ability to stop these forms of abuse if they chose to," said a law professor, adding they "operate with impunity."
Oversight Body Position and Platform Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said platforms must "consider the potential" of people viewing illegal content on their networks, but did not confirm whether it was presently examining X or Grok in relation to artificial intelligence pictures.
Grok is a no-cost chatbot—with some paid-for functions—which responds to X users' prompts when they mention it in a message.
It is commonly used to offer reactions or additional context to other posters' comments, but people on X are also capable of alter an uploaded image through its AI image editing function.
Background of Criticism and Rules
The tool has been criticised for permitting users to produce photos and clips with nudity and sexually suggestive content, and it was earlier alleged to have been involved in creating graphic material of public figures.
"X has been permitting the production and spread of these pictures for a long time without taking any steps and we have yet to see any challenge by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own usage rules forbids "portraying likenesses of people in a graphic manner".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "create or circulate private pictures or child sexual abuse material" and clarified this covered explicit AI images made with AI.
It said networks such as X were mandated to take "appropriate actions" to "lessen the danger" of users viewing unlawful material on their platforms and to remove it promptly when they are notified of it.
