🔗 Share this article

Elon Musk's online network X has caused widespread outrage after users used its AI chatbot Grok to alter images of women by removing their attire.

Several cases have been seen where the system has been used to remove clothing from women to make them appear in bikinis non-consensually, as well as to insert them in sexually explicit contexts.

Company Reaction and Legal Position

XAI, the company responsible for Grok, remained silent to requests for comment, other than an auto-reply response stating "legacy media lies".

A Home Office representative stated that new laws is being brought forward to outlaw nudification software. Under a upcoming criminal offence, anyone who provided such tools would "face a jail term and substantial fines".

"The platform could prevent these forms of misuse if they chose to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "seem to have a lack of consequences."

Oversight Body Position and Platform Capabilities

The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "consider the risk" of people accessing illegal content on their networks, but did not specify whether it was at this time examining X or Grok in regarding AI-generated pictures.

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

It is commonly used to provide commentary or further background to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also capable of edit an posted image through its artificial intelligence picture modification feature.

Background of Criticism and Rules

The system has been faulted for enabling users to create pictures and clips with nudity and sexually suggestive material, and it was in the past accused of generating sexually explicit material of public figures.

"The platform has been allowing the generation and distribution of these images for a long time without taking any measures and we have yet to see any challenge by regulators," the expert added.

XAI's own acceptable use policy prohibits "portraying likenesses of individuals in a sexually explicit way".

In a statement, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "create or circulate private pictures or illegal content" and confirmed this covered explicit AI images generated with AI.

It said networks such as X were mandated to take "appropriate steps" to "reduce the risk" of users coming across illegal content on their services and to remove it swiftly when they learn of it.