The online platform X has provoked widespread backlash after individuals used its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to change images of females by removing their garments.
Multiple cases have surfaced where the tool has been used to virtually strip female subjects to make them appear in bikinis without permission, as well as to put them in sexually explicit situations.
Developer Reaction and Regulatory Stance
XAI, the organization that created Grok, remained silent to requests for comment, aside from an standard message stating "legacy media lies".
A Home Office representative stated that legislation is being introduced to ban nudification tools. Under a proposed law, anyone who provided such technology would "face a jail term and substantial fines".
"X or Grok is capable of halting these types of abuse if they chose to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "appear to enjoy impunity."
Oversight Body Position and Platform Capabilities
The communications watchdog Ofcom said platforms must "assess the risk" of people accessing unlawful material on their networks, but did not specify whether it was currently investigating X or Grok in regarding AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a no-cost chatbot—with some additional features—which reacts to X users' prompts when they tag it in a message.
It is often used to offer reactions or more context to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also able to alter an uploaded photo through its artificial intelligence picture modification function.
History of Criticism and Rules
The tool has been faulted for enabling users to create images and clips with nudity and sexualised material, and it was earlier accused of generating inappropriate material of celebrities.
"X has been allowing the production and spread of these pictures for months without taking any steps and we have yet to see any intervention by regulators," the expert added.
XAI's own terms of service bans "depicting likenesses of people in a sexually explicit way".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was against the law to "create or circulate deepfakes or child sexual abuse material" and stated this included sexual deepfakes generated with AI.
It said networks such as X were mandated to take "necessary actions" to "minimize the risk" of users encountering unlawful material on their services and to remove it promptly when they become aware of it.
