The social media network X has provoked widespread backlash after users used its AI chatbot Grok to change photos of women by stripping their attire.
Several instances have emerged where the tool has been used to digitally undress female subjects to render them in bikinis non-consensually, as well as to put them in sexualized contexts.
Developer Reaction and Legal Position
XAI, the company behind Grok, offered no comment to inquiries, aside from an standard message stating "legacy media lies".
A Home Office spokesperson stated that legislation is being introduced to prohibit nudification software. Under a upcoming law, anyone who supplied such tools would "receive a jail term and substantial penalties".
"The platform is capable of halting these forms of misuse if they desired to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "seem to have a lack of consequences."
Oversight Body Position and Tool Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "evaluate the potential" of people accessing illegal content on their services, but did not confirm whether it was currently examining X or Grok in relation to AI-generated images.
Grok is a no-cost chatbot—with some premium features—which answers X users' requests when they mention it in a post.
It is often used to offer commentary or more background to other users' remarks, but people on X are also can alter an uploaded image through its artificial intelligence picture modification function.
History of Controversy and Policy
The tool has been faulted for permitting users to create images and clips with explicit content and sexualised content, and it was earlier accused of creating sexually explicit material of public figures.
"The platform has been allowing the creation and sharing of these pictures for months without taking any action and we have not seen any action by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own usage rules forbids "showing likenesses of people in a graphic way".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "create or distribute private pictures or illegal content" and confirmed this included explicit AI images generated with AI.
It said networks such as X were required to take "suitable actions" to "reduce the risk" of users viewing illegal content on their services and to remove it swiftly when they learn of it.
