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Elon Musk's social media network X has caused widespread outrage after users used its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to alter photos of females by removing their attire.

Numerous examples have surfaced where the system has been used to virtually strip female subjects to make them appear in bikinis non-consensually, as well as to put them in sexually explicit situations.

Company Reaction and Regulatory Position

XAI, the organization behind Grok, did not respond to requests for comment, except for an standard message stating "traditional news outlets lies".

A government spokesperson stated that legislation is being proposed to ban image stripping tools. Under a proposed criminal offence, anyone who distributed such technology would "be subject to a prison sentence and substantial fines".

"X or Grok could prevent these types of abuse if they wanted to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "appear to enjoy impunity."

Oversight Body Position and Platform Functionality

The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "consider the danger" of people viewing unlawful material on their platforms, but did not confirm whether it was at this time investigating X or Grok in regarding AI-generated images.

Grok is a free AI assistant—with some premium functions—which reacts to X users' prompts when they mention it in a post.

It is commonly used to offer commentary or additional background to other users' remarks, but people on X are also able to alter an posted picture through its AI image editing feature.

Background of Controversy and Rules

The tool has been criticised for permitting users to generate pictures and clips with nudity and sexualised material, and it was previously alleged to have been involved in creating sexually explicit content of celebrities.

"X has been allowing the production and distribution of these pictures for a long time without taking any action and we have not witnessed any challenge by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.

XAI's own usage rules prohibits "showing likenesses of persons in a pornographic manner".

In a statement, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "generate or share deepfakes or child sexual abuse material" and confirmed this covered explicit AI images created with AI.

It said platforms such as X were mandated to take "necessary steps" to "minimize the danger" of users viewing unlawful material on their platforms and to remove it quickly when they become aware of it.