Elon Musk's online network X has caused major outrage after individuals used its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to alter pictures of women by removing their attire.
Multiple instances have been seen where the system has been used to digitally undress women to make them appear in bikinis without consent, as well as to insert them in inappropriate scenarios.
Developer Reaction and Regulatory Stance
XAI, the organization that created Grok, remained silent to inquiries, except for an automatically-generated message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A government spokesperson stated that new laws is being introduced to prohibit nudification technology. Under a proposed law, anyone who provided such technology would "receive a prison sentence and heavy penalties".
"The platform is capable of halting these types of misuse if they chose to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "appear to enjoy impunity."
Oversight Body Position and Tool Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said technology companies must "assess the risk" of people seeing illegal content on their platforms, but did not specify whether it was presently examining X or Grok in concerning artificial intelligence images.
Grok is a no-cost chatbot—with some additional functions—which answers X users' prompts when they reference it in a message.
It is often used to provide commentary or more context to other users' remarks, but people on X are also able to edit an uploaded photo through its artificial intelligence picture modification feature.
History of Criticism and Policy
The tool has been criticised for permitting users to create images and footage with explicit content and sexually suggestive content, and it was earlier accused of creating graphic material of celebrities.
"The platform has been allowing the production and spread of these images for months without taking any action and we have yet to see any action by oversight bodies," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy prohibits "depicting likenesses of individuals in a sexually explicit manner".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was illegal to "make or share non-consensual intimate images or child sexual abuse material" and confirmed this applied to sexual deepfakes made with AI.
It said services such as X were mandated to take "necessary actions" to "lessen the risk" of users viewing illegal content on their services and to delete it quickly when they become aware of it.
