Elon Musk's social media network X has caused significant outrage after users used its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to alter photos of females by removing their attire.
Numerous instances have surfaced where the system has been employed to virtually strip women to show them in bikinis without consent, as well as to place them in sexually explicit situations.
Company Response and Legal Position
XAI, the company responsible for Grok, did not respond to requests for comment, aside from an standard response stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A Home Office spokesperson stated that legislation is being proposed to outlaw image stripping software. Under a proposed criminal offence, anyone who provided such tools would "receive a prison sentence and significant penalties".
"X or Grok could prevent these types of abuse if they chose to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "seem to have a lack of consequences."
Regulator Stance and Platform Functionality
The communications watchdog Ofcom said platforms must "evaluate the potential" of people viewing illegal content on their networks, but stopped short of confirming whether it was at this time investigating X or Grok in relation to AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a free AI assistant—with some paid-for features—which answers X users' queries when they mention it in a message.
It is often used to give commentary or further context to other users' remarks, but people on X are also capable of edit an posted photo through its AI image editing feature.
History of Controversy and Rules
The system has been condemned for enabling users to generate photos and videos with explicit content and sexualised content, and it was earlier alleged to have been involved in generating inappropriate material of public figures.
"The platform has been enabling the creation and spread of these images for a long time without taking any action and we have yet to see any challenge by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own terms of service bans "depicting likenesses of individuals in a sexually explicit way".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "make or distribute private pictures or illegal content" and confirmed this included sexual deepfakes generated with AI.
It said networks such as X were obligated to take "suitable actions" to "lessen the danger" of users coming across illegal material on their platforms and to remove it promptly when they are notified of it.
