Predators Exploit AI to Create Disturbing Images of Celebrities as Children
A troubling trend is emerging as paedophiles use artificial intelligence (AI) to generate images of well-known singers and actors as children, according to the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF). These disturbing images are being shared on the dark web, raising serious concerns.
The IWF’s latest report highlights the increasing danger posed by paedophiles who are leveraging AI systems to craft explicit images. This alarming trend highlights the potential misuse of powerful AI image-generation tools, which can create illicit content from simple text instructions.
The IWF’s report reveals that researchers spent a month monitoring AI-generated imagery on a single darknet child abuse website, uncovering nearly 3,000 synthetic images that violate UK law. Disturbingly, predators are now taking single photos of actual child abuse victims and generating numerous explicit images featuring these victims in various abusive scenarios.
For instance, one folder contained 501 images of a real-world victim who was approximately 9-10 years old at the time of her abuse. In this folder, predators also shared a finely tuned AI model file, enabling others to generate more images of her.
Some AI-generated images, including those depicting celebrities as children, are unrealistic and could easily deceive untrained observers. The report refrains from disclosing which celebrities have been targeted.
The IWF shares this research to raise awareness and encourage discussion during the upcoming UK government’s AI Summit at Bletchley Park.
During the course of one month, the IWF investigated 11,108 AI-generated images shared on a dark web child abuse forum:
- 2,978 of these images were confirmed to violate UK law, depicting child sexual abuse.
- 564 images fell under Category A, the most severe category of explicit content.
- 1,372 images displayed primary school-aged children (ages seven to 10).
- 143 images featured children aged three to six, while two depicted babies under two.
The IWF previously warned about the potential use of AI by predators to create explicit images of children, and it is now a reality. These AI-generated images, while not directly harming children, normalize predatory behaviour and strain law enforcement resources as they investigate non-existent victims. This distressing trend presents new challenges for law enforcement agencies, exploring new forms of offence and victimization.
Susie Hargreaves, the CEO of the IWF, remarked, “Our worst nightmares have come true. Earlier this year, we warned that AI imagery could soon become indistinguishable from real pictures of children suffering sexual abuse and that we could start to see this imagery proliferating in much greater numbers. We have now passed that point.”
The IWF’s report underscores the tangible harm caused by AI-generated images, emphasizing the urgent need to address this emerging threat effectively.
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