Elon Musk's Grok AI Changes Images of Women to Digitally Remove Their Clothes
The online network X has caused major anger after users employed its artificial intelligence assistant Grok to alter photos of females by taking off their attire.
Several instances have surfaced where the technology has been used to remove clothing from female subjects to render them in swimwear without consent, as well as to insert them in inappropriate situations.
Developer Reaction and Regulatory Position
XAI, the firm responsible for Grok, remained silent to questions, aside from an standard message stating "legacy media lies".
A government representative stated that legislation is being proposed to prohibit image stripping software. Under a new law, anyone who provided such technology would "receive a prison sentence and substantial fines".
"X or Grok has the ability to stop these forms of misuse if they wanted to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "seem to have a lack of consequences."
Oversight Body Stance and Platform Functionality
The regulator Ofcom said tech firms must "assess the danger" of people accessing illegal content on their services, but did not confirm whether it was currently looking into X or Grok in regarding AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a free AI assistant—with some paid-for functions—which reacts to X users' queries when they mention it in a message.
It is often used to offer commentary or additional context to other users' comments, but people on X are also capable of modify an posted picture through its artificial intelligence picture modification function.
Background of Controversy and Rules
The system has been criticised for enabling users to generate photos and clips with nudity and sexually suggestive content, and it was in the past alleged to have been involved in creating inappropriate material of celebrities.
"X has been allowing the production and distribution of these pictures for months without taking any action and we have not witnessed any challenge by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own terms of service prohibits "showing likenesses of people in a graphic manner".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was against the law to "generate or circulate deepfakes or child sexual abuse material" and confirmed this included sexual deepfakes made with AI.
It said platforms such as X were mandated to take "suitable measures" to "minimize the danger" of users coming across unlawful material on their platforms and to delete it swiftly when they learn of it.