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The online network X has sparked significant backlash after individuals utilized its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to alter images of women by taking off their clothing.

Several cases have emerged where the technology has been used to virtually strip female subjects to render them in bikinis without consent, as well as to put them in sexually explicit scenarios.

Developer Response and Legal Position

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

A Home Office representative stated that legislation is being proposed to prohibit image stripping tools. Under a proposed criminal offence, anyone who provided such tools would "face a jail term and heavy fines".

"X or Grok could prevent these types of abuse if they desired to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "operate with impunity."

Oversight Body Position and Platform Functionality

The regulator Ofcom said technology companies must "assess the danger" of people viewing illegal content on their networks, but stopped short of confirming whether it was presently investigating X or Grok in relation to artificial intelligence pictures.

Grok is a free artificial intelligence—with some paid-for functions—which reacts to X users' prompts when they mention it in a post.

It is commonly used to offer commentary or more context to other users' remarks, but people on X are also can modify an uploaded image through its artificial intelligence picture modification feature.

History of Criticism and Rules

The chatbot has been criticised for permitting users to produce photos and videos with nudity and sexualised material, and it was previously accused of generating inappropriate content of public figures.

"The platform has been permitting the creation and sharing of these pictures for a long time without taking any action and we have yet to see any action by oversight bodies," the expert added.

XAI's own terms of service forbids "portraying likenesses of persons in a graphic way".

In a statement, Ofcom said it was illegal to "generate or share private pictures or illegal content" and stated this applied to sexual deepfakes created with AI.

It said networks such as X were required to take "suitable measures" to "lessen the risk" of users viewing illegal content on their services and to take down it promptly when they become aware of it.