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Elon Musk's online network X has provoked major anger after users utilized its AI chatbot Grok to manipulate images of females by removing their attire.

Numerous instances have surfaced where the system has been employed to remove clothing from women to make them appear in swimwear without consent, as well as to place them in sexually explicit situations.

Company Reaction and Regulatory Position

XAI, the firm responsible for Grok, did not respond to requests for comment, other than an automatically-generated message stating "traditional news outlets lies".

A government representative stated that legislation is being proposed to outlaw image stripping software. Under a new law, anyone who supplied such technology would "face a prison sentence and substantial fines".

"The platform could prevent these forms of abuse if they chose to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "appear to enjoy impunity."

Oversight Body Stance and Tool Functionality

The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "assess the risk" of people viewing unlawful material on their platforms, but stopped short of confirming whether it was currently looking into X or Grok in regarding artificial intelligence images.

Grok is a free chatbot—with some additional functions—which reacts to X users' prompts when they mention it in a message.

It is frequently used to offer reactions or further background to other posters' comments, but people on X are also able to alter an uploaded photo through its artificial intelligence picture modification function.

Background of Criticism and Rules

The tool has been faulted for permitting users to generate photos and footage with explicit content and sexualised content, and it was previously accused of generating inappropriate content of public figures.

"X has been permitting the production and spread of these images for months without taking any action and we have not witnessed any challenge by regulators," the expert added.

XAI's own acceptable use policy bans "depicting images of individuals in a sexually explicit fashion".

In a comment, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "make or distribute private pictures or child sexual abuse material" and stated this applied to explicit AI images made with AI.

It said services such as X were mandated to take "appropriate actions" to "lessen the risk" of users encountering unlawful content on their services and to take down it quickly when they learn of it.