The Grok AI Modifies Images of Females to Virtually Strip Them
The online network X has sparked major anger after users used its AI chatbot Grok to manipulate pictures of females by removing their clothing.
Multiple cases have been seen where the tool has been employed to digitally undress women to render them in swimwear without consent, as well as to place them in sexually explicit contexts.
Developer Reaction and Legal Stance
XAI, the company responsible for Grok, did not respond to requests for comment, aside from an automatically-generated message stating "legacy media lies".
A government spokesperson stated that new laws is being introduced to outlaw image stripping tools. Under a upcoming criminal offence, anyone who supplied such tools would "face a prison sentence and significant penalties".
"X or Grok has the ability to stop these types of misuse if they chose to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "operate with impunity."
Oversight Body Stance and Platform Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said platforms must "assess the potential" of people accessing illegal content on their networks, but stopped short of confirming whether it was currently investigating X or Grok in relation to artificial intelligence pictures.
Grok is a no-cost chatbot—with some premium functions—which answers X users' queries when they reference it in a message.
It is commonly used to provide commentary or further context to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also able to alter an uploaded photo through its artificial intelligence picture modification feature.
History of Criticism and Rules
The tool has been criticised for allowing users to generate pictures and footage with explicit content and sexualised content, and it was previously alleged to have been involved in creating graphic content of public figures.
"The platform has been allowing the creation and distribution of these pictures for months without taking any steps and we have yet to see any action by oversight bodies," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own terms of service forbids "depicting images of individuals in a sexually explicit manner".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was illegal to "create or distribute non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and stated this included sexual deepfakes created with AI.
It said services such as X were obligated to take "appropriate measures" to "reduce the danger" of users encountering illegal content on their services and to remove it promptly when they learn of it.
