🔗 Share this article

Elon Musk's social media platform X has caused widespread backlash after individuals employed its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to change photos of women by removing their clothing.

Several instances have surfaced where the system has been employed to virtually strip women to make them appear in swimwear without consent, as well as to place them in sexualized scenarios.

Company Reaction and Legal Stance

XAI, the firm that created Grok, offered no comment to inquiries, aside from an standard message stating "legacy media lies".

A government representative stated that legislation is being brought forward to outlaw image stripping tools. Under a new law, anyone who distributed such tools would "be subject to a jail term and heavy fines".

"The platform is capable of halting these types of abuse if they wanted to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "seem to have impunity."

Oversight Body Stance and Platform Functionality

The communications watchdog Ofcom said tech firms must "assess the danger" of people accessing illegal content on their networks, but did not confirm whether it was currently investigating X or Grok in relation to artificial intelligence images.

Grok is a free chatbot—with some paid-for functions—which answers X users' queries when they reference it in a message.

It is commonly used to offer reactions or more context to other users' comments, but people on X are also capable of alter an posted image through its artificial intelligence picture modification function.

History of Criticism and Policy

The tool has been faulted for enabling users to produce photos and footage with explicit content and sexually suggestive content, and it was earlier alleged to have been involved in creating graphic material of public figures.

"The platform has been permitting the creation and spread of these pictures for months without taking any action and we have not seen any intervention by oversight bodies," the expert added.

XAI's own acceptable use policy prohibits "showing likenesses of individuals in a graphic manner".

In a comment, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "create or distribute private pictures or illegal content" and stated this covered sexual deepfakes made with AI.

It said platforms such as X were required to take "necessary measures" to "minimize the danger" of users viewing unlawful material on their platforms and to delete it swiftly when they learn of it.