The online network X has sparked widespread outrage after users used its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to manipulate pictures of women by stripping their attire.
Numerous instances have emerged where the tool has been used to virtually strip women to make them appear in swimwear without consent, as well as to insert them in sexualized situations.
Developer Reaction and Legal Position
XAI, the organization behind Grok, offered no comment to questions, except for an auto-reply response stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A Home Office official stated that legislation is being brought forward to prohibit nudification software. Under a proposed criminal offence, anyone who provided such technology would "be subject to a prison sentence and significant penalties".
"X or Grok has the ability to stop these forms of abuse if they desired to," said a law professor, adding they "operate with impunity."
Regulator Stance and Platform Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "assess the danger" of people viewing unlawful material on their networks, but did not confirm whether it was at this time examining X or Grok in concerning artificial intelligence images.
Grok is a no-cost chatbot—with some paid-for features—which responds to X users' prompts when they mention it in a tweet.
It is frequently used to give reactions or further context to other users' remarks, but people on X are also can alter an posted image through its artificial intelligence picture modification tool.
History of Controversy and Rules
The system has been faulted for enabling users to create pictures and clips with explicit content and sexually suggestive material, and it was in the past accused of making sexually explicit content of public figures.
"The platform has been allowing the generation and spread of these pictures for a long time without taking any steps and we have not seen any challenge by oversight bodies," the expert added.
XAI's own usage rules bans "showing images of persons in a pornographic manner".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was illegal to "create or circulate non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and confirmed this included sexual deepfakes generated with AI.
It said networks such as X were mandated to take "appropriate steps" to "reduce the risk" of users encountering unlawful content on their services and to remove it swiftly when they are notified of it.
