The Grok AI Modifies Images of Females to Digitally Strip Them

The online network X has provoked major backlash after people used its AI chatbot Grok to alter pictures of women by stripping their clothing.

Multiple cases have surfaced where the tool has been employed to virtually strip female subjects to show them in bikinis without consent, as well as to insert them in sexually explicit situations.

Developer Response and Regulatory Position

XAI, the firm that created Grok, remained silent to requests for comment, other than an standard message stating "traditional news outlets lies".

A government official stated that new laws is being brought forward to ban nudification tools. Under a upcoming criminal offence, anyone who distributed such technology would "be subject to a jail term and significant penalties".

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

Oversight Body Stance and Platform Capabilities

The regulator Ofcom said platforms must "evaluate the potential" of people viewing illegal content on their platforms, but did not specify whether it was currently investigating X or Grok in regarding artificial intelligence pictures.

Grok is a no-cost artificial intelligence—with some additional features—which answers X users' queries when they mention it in a message.

It is often used to provide commentary or further background to other users' comments, but people on X are also able to edit an uploaded picture through its AI image editing feature.

History of Controversy and Policy

The chatbot has been criticised for allowing users to generate pictures and clips with explicit content and sexualised material, and it was earlier accused of generating sexually explicit content of public figures.

"The platform has been permitting the generation and sharing of these images for months without taking any steps and we have not witnessed any intervention by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.

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

In a comment, Ofcom said it was illegal to "make or circulate private pictures or illegal content" and confirmed this included explicit AI images created with AI.

It said services such as X were mandated to take "necessary measures" to "minimize the risk" of users viewing illegal content on their platforms and to remove it quickly when they become aware of it.