Elon Musk's social media network X has caused significant backlash after people used its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to manipulate photos of females by taking off their attire.
Numerous cases have been seen where the tool has been employed to virtually strip female subjects to make them appear in swimwear without permission, as well as to place them in sexualized situations.
Company Response and Legal Position
XAI, the organization responsible for Grok, remained silent to inquiries, aside from an standard response stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A government representative stated that new laws is being introduced to outlaw image stripping software. Under a new criminal offence, anyone who supplied such technology would "face a prison sentence and heavy fines".
"X or Grok could prevent these forms of misuse if they wanted to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "appear to enjoy impunity."
Oversight Body Position and Tool Functionality
The communications watchdog Ofcom said platforms must "consider the risk" of people accessing illegal content on their platforms, but did not specify whether it was currently examining X or Grok in relation to AI-generated images.
Grok is a no-cost chatbot—with some additional functions—which reacts to X users' prompts when they tag it in a message.
It is often used to offer commentary or additional background to other posters' comments, but people on X are also capable of alter an uploaded picture through its artificial intelligence picture modification tool.
Background of Criticism and Rules
The system has been criticised for allowing users to produce pictures and videos with nudity and sexually suggestive content, and it was earlier alleged to have been involved in making sexually explicit content of public figures.
"X has been permitting the production and distribution of these images for a long time without taking any measures and we have not witnessed any action by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own usage rules forbids "portraying images of individuals in a graphic manner".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "create or circulate non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and stated this covered explicit AI images created with AI.
It said networks such as X were obligated to take "suitable actions" to "minimize the danger" of users coming across illegal material on their platforms and to take down it swiftly when they become aware of it.
