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The online network X has provoked significant anger after individuals used its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to alter pictures of females by removing their clothing.

Multiple instances have been seen where the tool has been used to virtually strip female subjects to render them in bikinis non-consensually, as well as to put them in sexually explicit scenarios.

Developer Reaction and Regulatory Position

XAI, the firm behind Grok, did not respond to requests for comment, except for an automatically-generated message stating "legacy media lies".

A government spokesperson stated that new laws is being proposed to prohibit nudification technology. Under a upcoming law, anyone who distributed such technology would "be subject to a prison sentence and significant fines".

"The platform could prevent these types of misuse if they desired to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "operate with a lack of consequences."

Regulator Stance and Tool Capabilities

The communications watchdog Ofcom said tech firms must "assess the risk" of people accessing unlawful material on their services, but stopped short of confirming whether it was currently looking into X or Grok in concerning AI-generated pictures.

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

It is frequently used to offer commentary or further context to other posters' remarks, but people on X are also capable of edit an posted photo through its AI image editing function.

History of Criticism and Policy

The tool has been criticised for enabling users to generate images and footage with nudity and sexually suggestive content, and it was in the past alleged to have been involved in making graphic content of celebrities.

"The platform has been allowing the production and distribution of these pictures for a long time without taking any steps and we have not witnessed any challenge by oversight bodies," the expert added.

XAI's own terms of service prohibits "showing likenesses of individuals in a graphic way".

In a statement, Ofcom said it was against the law to "create or circulate private pictures or child sexual abuse material" and clarified this included sexual deepfakes generated with AI.

It said services such as X were obligated to take "appropriate measures" to "reduce the risk" of users coming across illegal content on their services and to delete it quickly when they become aware of it.