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The social media network X has sparked significant backlash after users used its AI chatbot Grok to alter pictures of females by removing their clothing.

Numerous cases have surfaced where the technology has been employed to digitally undress female subjects to render them in swimwear without permission, as well as to place them in inappropriate scenarios.

Developer Reaction and Legal Stance

XAI, the company responsible for Grok, did not respond to questions, other than an standard response stating "legacy media lies".

A government representative stated that new laws is being brought forward to prohibit image stripping software. Under a upcoming law, anyone who supplied such technology would "face a prison sentence and significant fines".

"X or Grok is capable of halting these forms of abuse if they desired to," said a law professor, adding they "appear to enjoy a lack of consequences."

Regulator Stance and Platform Capabilities

The regulator Ofcom said platforms must "assess the potential" of people viewing unlawful material on their services, but stopped short of confirming whether it was presently looking into X or Grok in relation to AI-generated images.

Grok is a no-cost artificial intelligence—with some paid-for features—which answers X users' prompts when they reference it in a tweet.

It is often used to provide reactions or more context to other posters' comments, but people on X are also capable of edit an uploaded photo through its AI image editing tool.

Background of Controversy and Rules

The chatbot has been condemned for permitting users to produce pictures and clips with explicit content and sexually suggestive content, and it was in the past accused of creating sexually explicit content of celebrities.

"X has been enabling the production and distribution of these images for months without taking any steps and we have not witnessed any intervention by regulators," the expert added.

XAI's own terms of service bans "depicting images of people in a graphic manner".

In a statement, Ofcom said it was against the law to "generate or distribute non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and clarified this included sexual deepfakes created with AI.

It said networks such as X were required to take "suitable actions" to "reduce the danger" of users viewing unlawful material on their platforms and to remove it promptly when they become aware of it.