The social media network X has sparked significant anger after people utilized its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to change images of females by removing their attire.
Several cases have emerged where the tool has been employed to digitally undress female subjects to make them appear in bikinis without consent, as well as to put them in sexually explicit contexts.
Developer Response and Regulatory Stance
XAI, the organization responsible for Grok, remained silent to questions, except for an auto-reply response stating "legacy media lies".
A government spokesperson stated that legislation is being introduced to prohibit nudification software. Under a proposed law, anyone who supplied such tools would "be subject to a jail term and heavy fines".
"X or Grok could prevent these types of misuse if they wanted to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "appear to enjoy impunity."
Regulator Stance and Tool Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said technology companies must "evaluate the potential" of people viewing unlawful material on their platforms, but stopped short of confirming whether it was presently looking into X or Grok in concerning AI-generated images.
Grok is a free AI assistant—with some premium functions—which responds to X users' prompts when they reference it in a post.
It is frequently used to provide reactions or more context to other posters' comments, but people on X are also able to edit an uploaded picture through its artificial intelligence picture modification feature.
Background of Controversy and Rules
The tool has been criticised for enabling users to generate images and clips with nudity and sexualised material, and it was previously alleged to have been involved in creating inappropriate material of celebrities.
"X has been allowing the creation and sharing of these images for a long time without taking any steps and we have yet to see any intervention by oversight bodies," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy prohibits "portraying images of persons in a sexually explicit fashion".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "generate or share non-consensual intimate images or child sexual abuse material" and confirmed this included sexual deepfakes created with AI.
It said networks such as X were obligated to take "suitable measures" to "reduce the danger" of users viewing illegal content on their platforms and to remove it promptly when they become aware of it.
