🔗 Share this article

The online network X has caused major outrage after individuals utilized its AI chatbot Grok to change pictures of females by stripping their attire.

Multiple examples have surfaced where the tool has been employed to virtually strip female subjects to show them in bikinis without consent, as well as to place them in inappropriate situations.

Developer Reaction and Legal Stance

XAI, the organization that created Grok, did not respond to questions, other than an automatically-generated response stating "traditional news outlets lies".

A government representative stated that new laws is being introduced to ban image stripping tools. Under a proposed law, anyone who distributed such tools would "face a jail term and substantial fines".

"X or Grok could prevent these forms of misuse if they wanted to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "appear to enjoy a lack of consequences."

Oversight Body Position and Platform Capabilities

The communications watchdog Ofcom said platforms must "assess the danger" of people viewing illegal content on their services, but did not specify whether it was currently investigating X or Grok in regarding artificial intelligence images.

Grok is a free artificial intelligence—with some paid-for features—which answers X users' queries when they mention it in a message.

It is often used to give reactions or additional context to other users' remarks, but people on X are also can alter an posted image through its AI image editing function.

History of Criticism and Rules

The system has been condemned for permitting users to produce pictures and clips with nudity and sexualised material, and it was previously accused of making graphic content of celebrities.

"X has been allowing the creation and spread of these images for months without taking any action and we have yet to see any challenge by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.

XAI's own terms of service prohibits "depicting likenesses of persons in a pornographic manner".

In a comment, Ofcom said it was illegal to "make or circulate deepfakes or illegal content" and stated this applied to sexual deepfakes generated with AI.

It said services such as X were obligated to take "suitable actions" to "reduce the risk" of users viewing illegal content on their services and to take down it quickly when they are notified of it.