In an official statement on Monday, the observatory said recent technological developments have transformed the digital space into an open arena for violating personal dignity and privacy, with insufficient technical or legal deterrence.
Such practices constitute a “blatant violation of human values and individual rights,” the statement added.
The warning follows a wave of international concern and growing calls in several countries to restrict or ban the platform, which was developed by Elon Musk’s social media company X, formerly known as Twitter.
While most image-generation tools have historically operated under strict ethical safeguards, recent updates have reportedly introduced loopholes, the observatory noted.
These allow users to transform ordinary photos of fully clothed people into "fully or partially undraped" images with striking realism, it warned.
According to the statement, the danger of this technology lies primarily in its high level of realistic simulation, which makes the generated images difficult to distinguish from genuine photographs.
This, the statement noted, can cause profound psychological and social harm to victims.
The technology also enables digital reconstruction of bodies “in obscene or indecent poses” with a single click, while its speed and scale of at which this content can be disseminated have further compounded the threat.
The observatory warned that platform measures—such as placing certain features behind paid subscriptions instead of enforcing a complete ban—are insufficient.
Criticizing the platform’s current safety measures—such as placing certain features behind a paywall rather than enforcing a total ban—the observatory described the approach as "unethical experimentation" driven by profit.
It further warned that third-party applications linked to the technology are continuing to produce explicit content within seconds.
International regulatory action
The controversy has triggered decisive action in several countries. Indonesia and Malaysia have become two of the first states to impose a ban on Grok, citing concerns over the generation of non-consensual sexualized images and the threat such content poses to human dignity, digital safety, and public morals.
In the UK, the platform is facing mounting regulatory pressure under the Online Safety Act, with authorities warning that X could face heavy fines or potential restrictions if it fails to curb the production and spread of AI-generated nude and deep fake images.
British officials have also moved toward criminalizing the creation and distribution of non-consensual explicit AI content, particularly to protect women and minors.
Other countries in Europe and Asia are also reviewing legal and regulatory measures to limit the misuse of artificial intelligence technologies that enable privacy violations and digital sexual abuse.
Call for global action
The Al-Azhar Observatory said it is closely monitoring these rapid technological developments with deep concern, stressing that such practices cannot be justified under the pretext of “freedom of expression” or “personal freedom.”
It underscored the urgent need to enhance societal and digital awareness of the ethical and security threats posed by artificial intelligence, calling for unified international efforts to launch global monitoring initiatives and enact strict laws governing the use of such technologies.
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