Elon Musk's online network X has provoked major backlash after individuals employed its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to manipulate pictures of females by taking off their garments.
Several cases have been seen where the tool has been employed to virtually strip female subjects to show them in swimwear without permission, as well as to place them in sexualized scenarios.
Developer Response and Legal Position
XAI, the organization that created Grok, offered no comment to inquiries, except for an auto-reply response stating "legacy media lies".
A government spokesperson stated that new laws is being introduced to prohibit image stripping technology. Under a upcoming criminal offence, anyone who distributed such tools would "face a jail term and significant fines".
"The platform could prevent these types of misuse if they chose to," said a law professor, adding they "appear to enjoy impunity."
Regulator Stance and Tool Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "evaluate the potential" of people seeing illegal content on their platforms, but did not specify whether it was presently looking into X or Grok in concerning AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a free chatbot—with some additional functions—which answers X users' requests when they mention it in a message.
It is frequently used to give reactions or additional background to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also can alter an posted picture through its artificial intelligence picture modification function.
History of Criticism and Rules
The system has been condemned 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 sexually explicit content of celebrities.
"The platform has been allowing the generation and distribution of these pictures for months without taking any measures and we have not witnessed any action by oversight bodies," the expert added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy prohibits "showing images of people in a graphic manner".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was illegal to "create or circulate non-consensual intimate images or child sexual abuse material" and confirmed this covered sexual deepfakes generated with AI.
It said networks such as X were mandated to take "necessary actions" to "lessen the risk" of users encountering unlawful material on their platforms and to delete it quickly when they are notified of it.
