Elon Musk's online platform X has provoked widespread backlash after people used its AI chatbot Grok to alter images of females by stripping their attire.
Numerous examples have emerged where the tool has been employed to virtually strip female subjects to make them appear in bikinis non-consensually, as well as to put them in sexualized contexts.
Company Response and Legal Stance
XAI, the organization that created Grok, remained silent to inquiries, aside from an standard message stating "legacy media lies".
A Home Office spokesperson stated that legislation is being brought forward to prohibit image stripping software. Under a new criminal offence, anyone who distributed such technology would "face a jail term and significant penalties".
"X or Grok could prevent these forms of abuse if they chose to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "appear to enjoy impunity."
Regulator Stance and Tool Capabilities
The communications watchdog Ofcom said technology companies must "consider the potential" of people viewing illegal content on their services, but did not specify whether it was currently looking into X or Grok in concerning AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a free chatbot—with some paid-for features—which reacts to X users' requests when they mention it in a message.
It is frequently used to give reactions or further context to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also able to modify an posted photo through its AI image editing tool.
Background of Criticism and Rules
The system has been faulted for enabling users to create images and footage with explicit content and sexually suggestive material, and it was earlier accused of making sexually explicit content of celebrities.
"The platform has been permitting the production and distribution of these images for months without taking any action and we have not witnessed any challenge by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own usage rules prohibits "portraying images of persons in a pornographic way".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "make or share non-consensual intimate images or child sexual abuse material" and confirmed this included sexual deepfakes generated with AI.
It said networks such as X were required to take "appropriate measures" to "reduce the danger" of users viewing illegal material on their services and to delete it quickly when they become aware of it.
