Elon Musk's online network X has provoked widespread anger after people used its AI chatbot Grok to change pictures of females by removing their garments.
Numerous instances have been seen where the tool has been used to remove clothing from women to render them in bikinis without permission, as well as to insert them in sexualized scenarios.
Developer Reaction and Legal Position
XAI, the company that created Grok, did not respond to inquiries, except for an auto-reply response stating "legacy media lies".
A Home Office representative stated that new laws is being proposed to prohibit image stripping tools. Under a proposed law, anyone who supplied such technology would "be subject to a jail term and substantial fines".
"X or Grok could prevent these forms of misuse if they chose to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "operate with a lack of consequences."
Oversight Body Stance and Tool Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "consider the danger" of people viewing illegal content on their services, but did not confirm whether it was currently looking into X or Grok in concerning AI-generated images.
Grok is a no-cost AI assistant—with some paid-for features—which reacts to X users' queries when they tag it in a tweet.
It is often used to provide 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 Controversy and Policy
The chatbot has been faulted for permitting users to produce pictures and clips with explicit content and sexually suggestive content, and it was earlier accused of creating inappropriate material of public figures.
"X has been allowing the production and distribution of these pictures for a long time without taking any steps and we have yet to see any challenge by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own acceptable use policy prohibits "showing images of persons in a pornographic way".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was illegal to "generate or share private pictures or illegal content" and confirmed this included explicit AI images generated with AI.
It said networks such as X were obligated to take "appropriate actions" to "reduce the danger" of users coming across illegal material on their platforms and to delete it quickly when they are notified of it.
