'I discovered sexual images of myself online - I felt humiliated'

A Welsh man whose photos were manipulated to create explicit images on Grok claims that the new regulations announced by X fail to safeguard men from exploitation. Elon Musk's AI chatbot has been under scrutiny recently for enabling users to produce explicit images of individuals.

In response to this issue X announced that it has put in place measures to prevent users from manipulating images of real people in revealing attire such as bikinis and underwear in jurisdictions where it is unlawful. However, it remains possible to generate an image of a man donning a bikini top.

Ruben Chorlton Owen, 24, from Abersoch, found sexualised images of himself on the platform prior to the ban and he believes the presence of loopholes concerning images of men indicates that the rules are insufficient.

The content creator shared: "I first noticed that Grok had been used to create sexualised images of me after a friend sent me a screenshot of a post on X. In the original image taken from my Instagram account I was wearing a dressing gown.

"Someone pretending to be me had asked the chat bot to 'make my underwear transparent for fun'. I was shocked and confused, it looked so real, people could see that and believe it and then they might think all sorts about me.

"There was no consent at all from me. Someone could have sent that image to my employer or to a family member.

"I reported the image and it's now been removed, but who knows how many other images of me there are out there, there's no way to search for them.

"I'm glad that the issue is being addressed and that it's protecting women and children, which is obviously very important, but you can still create images of men in bikinis, which is really concerning. I think the new rules don't really go far enough. They sound reassuring, but there are still big gaps, particularly when it comes to men.

"If it can still happen at all, then the problem hasn't been fixed. It shows how easily someone's image can still be misused, and that's what's worrying."

Ruben first became aware his images had been manipulated recently after a friend forwarded him a doctored photograph of himself, sourced from his Instagram profile.

The original photograph showed Ruben in a dressing gown, but the altered version depicted him stripped to his underwear, which had been rendered see-through.

To generate the image, an X user, impersonating Ruben, had requested Grok to "make my underwear transparent for fun". Shocked, Ruben promptly reported the image, securing its removal, but he remains worried that additional images of him may exist online beyond his knowledge.

Since discovering the manipulated photograph Ruben has been monitoring news coverage of the issue closely and was pleased to learn that X has pledged to tackle the problem.

In a statement issued on January 14 X said: "We have implemented technological measures to prevent the Grok account from allowing the editing of images of real people in revealing clothing such as bikinis.

"We now geoblock the ability of all users to generate images of real people in bikinis, underwear, and similar attire via the Grok account and in Grok in X in those jurisdictions where it's illegal."

However, a recent perusal of Grok's timeline reveals manipulated images of men in bikinis, including a sexualised image of Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Ruben argues that this indicates the new regulations are insufficient.

He further expressed his concern as a content creator who regularly posts images of himself online for work purposes. He feels more vulnerable due to the abundance of his photos online that could potentially be tampered with without his permission.

"It's so scary, technology is moving so fast, and now it looks like it's going in the wrong direction," he added. "There's always going to be ways around the rules, this is only the beginning."