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The social media platform X has caused widespread backlash after individuals utilized its AI chatbot Grok to change photos of females by removing their clothing.

Numerous instances have surfaced where the tool has been used to virtually strip female subjects to show them in bikinis without permission, as well as to insert them in sexually explicit scenarios.

Developer Response and Regulatory Position

XAI, the firm behind Grok, remained silent to inquiries, aside from an automatically-generated response stating "traditional news outlets lies".

A government official stated that new laws is being brought forward to prohibit image stripping tools. Under a proposed criminal offence, anyone who provided such technology would "be subject to a prison sentence and heavy penalties".

"The platform has the ability to stop these types of abuse if they desired to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "appear to enjoy impunity."

Oversight Body Stance and Platform Functionality

The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "assess the danger" of people accessing unlawful material on their services, but did not specify whether it was at this time investigating X or Grok in regarding artificial intelligence images.

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

It is commonly used to provide commentary or additional context to other users' remarks, but people on X are also capable of alter an uploaded picture through its AI image editing feature.

History of Controversy and Policy

The system has been faulted for enabling users to create photos and footage with nudity and sexualised content, and it was previously alleged to have been involved in creating graphic material of public figures.

"The platform has been enabling the creation and spread of these images for a long time without taking any steps and we have not witnessed any action by regulators," the expert added.

XAI's own terms of service bans "portraying likenesses of individuals in a pornographic way".

In a comment, Ofcom said it was against the law to "create or distribute deepfakes or child sexual abuse material" and stated this covered explicit AI images made with AI.

It said networks such as X were mandated to take "appropriate actions" to "reduce the risk" of users viewing unlawful material on their services and to delete it swiftly when they become aware of it.