An Abersoch man whose pictures were edited to create sexually explicit images by Grok says new rules announced by X don’t protect men from exploitation.

Elon Musk’s AI chatbot has come under fire recently for allowing users to generate sexually explicit images of people.

Addressing this issue, X said it has implemented measures to prevent people from editing images of real people in revealing clothes such as bikinis and underwear, in countries where it is illegal.

However, it is still possible to generate an image of a man wearing a bikini top.

Ruben Chorlton Owen, 24, discovered sexualised images of himself on the platform before the ban came in. Although glad action is being taken, the fact there are loopholes when it comes to images of men shows the rules don’t go far enough.

He said: “I first noticed 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 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 the issue is being addressed and 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.

“The new rules don’t 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."

In a statement on 14 January, 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 look at Grok’s timeline shows doctored images of men in bikinis, including a sexualised image of Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Ruben added that as a content creator, who shares images of himself online as part of his job, he feels more at risk, as there is so much more content of him online, that could potentially be altered without his consent.

“It’s so scary, technology is moving so fast, and now it looks like it’s going in the wrong direction.

“There’s always going to be ways around the rules, this is only the beginning.”