The social media network X has sparked widespread anger after users used its AI chatbot Grok to alter images of women by taking off their attire.
Multiple examples have surfaced where the system has been used to virtually strip women to render them in bikinis without permission, as well as to insert them in sexually explicit scenarios.
Company Response and Legal Position
XAI, the organization responsible for Grok, remained silent to questions, other than an standard message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A government spokesperson stated that legislation is being brought forward to prohibit nudification software. Under a upcoming law, anyone who distributed such tools would "receive a jail term and significant fines".
"The platform has the ability to stop these types of misuse if they wanted to," said a law professor, adding they "operate with a lack of consequences."
Oversight Body Position and Tool Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said platforms must "evaluate the risk" of people accessing 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 free chatbot—with some premium features—which reacts to X users' requests when they tag it in a tweet.
It is frequently used to give commentary or more context to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also able to modify an uploaded photo through its artificial intelligence picture modification feature.
History of Controversy and Policy
The tool has been condemned for allowing users to generate pictures and footage with nudity and sexually suggestive material, and it was previously alleged to have been involved in making graphic material of celebrities.
"The platform has been enabling the generation and spread of these pictures for a long time without taking any steps and we have not witnessed any challenge by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own terms of service forbids "depicting images of individuals in a sexually explicit way".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "create or circulate non-consensual intimate images or child sexual abuse material" and confirmed this applied to sexual deepfakes created with AI.
It said networks 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 promptly when they learn of it.
