Irish police warn AI 'undressing' tools pose serious threat to online safety

By Aysu Bicer

LONDON (AA) - Irish police will brief lawmakers on the use of artificial intelligence to digitally undress images of people, including children, which represents a serious threat that “cannot be tolerated.”

According to a report by public broadcaster RTE, top police officials are due to address a parliamentary committee on media later on Wednesday during a hearing on online safety and the regulation of digital platforms.

This move came after the UK’s online safety regulator Ofcom on Monday opened a formal investigation into tech billionaire Elon Musk's social media company X over concerns that the platform's AI tool Grok is being used to create sexualized imagery.

The session will focus on the controversy surrounding the Grok AI tool on X, which has been used to generate non-consensual, sexually explicit images.

Detective Chief Superintendent Barry Walsh is expected to tell the committee that the creation of abuse imagery using AI is being treated with the “utmost seriousness.”

He will also warn that the issue goes beyond a single product, noting that other AI models could be trained to produce similar material.

He is expected to urge all AI service providers to ensure their systems cannot be manipulated to create content that is unlawful and deeply harmful.