The online network X has caused significant anger after users employed its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to manipulate pictures of females by stripping their attire.
Numerous instances have been seen where the tool has been employed to remove clothing from female subjects to render them in bikinis non-consensually, as well as to insert them in sexualized situations.
Developer Reaction and Legal Stance
XAI, the organization responsible for Grok, offered no comment to questions, except for an standard response stating "legacy media lies".
A government spokesperson stated that new laws is being proposed to ban image stripping software. Under a proposed criminal offence, anyone who supplied such tools would "be subject to a jail term and substantial fines".
"The platform is capable of halting these types of abuse if they chose to," said a law professor, adding they "appear to enjoy a lack of consequences."
Oversight Body Stance and Tool Functionality
The communications watchdog Ofcom said tech firms must "assess the danger" of people accessing illegal content on their platforms, but did not confirm whether it was at this time investigating X or Grok in concerning artificial intelligence images.
Grok is a free AI assistant—with some paid-for functions—which responds to X users' prompts when they mention it in a tweet.
It is often used to provide reactions or additional context to other users' remarks, but people on X are also can edit an uploaded picture through its artificial intelligence picture modification feature.
Background of Criticism and Policy
The tool has been criticised for enabling users to create images and clips with nudity and sexualised content, and it was previously accused of generating graphic content of public figures.
"The platform has been permitting the production and spread of these pictures for months without taking any action and we have yet to see any challenge by oversight bodies," the expert added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy prohibits "portraying likenesses of persons in a graphic manner".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was illegal to "create or distribute non-consensual intimate images or child sexual abuse material" and confirmed this included sexual deepfakes created with AI.
It said networks such as X were obligated to take "suitable steps" to "lessen the risk" of users viewing unlawful content on their services and to remove it promptly when they learn of it.
