🔗 Share this article

The online network X has provoked major outrage after users utilized its AI chatbot Grok to change pictures of women by removing their attire.

Several instances have been seen where the tool has been used to remove clothing from female subjects to render them in bikinis without permission, as well as to put them in inappropriate scenarios.

Company Reaction and Regulatory Position

XAI, the organization that created Grok, offered no comment to questions, aside from an automatically-generated response stating "legacy media lies".

A Home Office official stated that legislation is being proposed to outlaw nudification software. Under a upcoming law, anyone who supplied such technology would "face a prison sentence and substantial penalties".

"X or Grok could prevent these types of misuse if they desired to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "operate with a lack of consequences."

Oversight Body Stance and Tool Functionality

The communications watchdog Ofcom said technology companies must "evaluate the risk" of people accessing illegal content on their services, but did not specify whether it was currently investigating X or Grok in relation to artificial intelligence pictures.

Grok is a free chatbot—with some paid-for features—which reacts to X users' prompts when they tag it in a message.

It is often used to offer commentary or additional context to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also capable of edit an posted picture through its artificial intelligence picture modification function.

History of Criticism and Policy

The chatbot has been criticised for enabling users to produce photos and videos with explicit content and sexualised material, and it was in the past alleged to have been involved in generating graphic material of celebrities.

"The platform has been enabling the production and distribution of these pictures for months without taking any action and we have not witnessed any intervention by regulators," the expert added.

XAI's own terms of service bans "portraying likenesses of persons in a pornographic manner".

In a statement, Ofcom said it was against the law to "make or circulate deepfakes or child sexual abuse material" and clarified this included explicit AI images made with AI.

It said platforms such as X were mandated to take "necessary measures" to "minimize the danger" of users viewing unlawful content on their platforms and to remove it swiftly when they are notified of it.