More AI-generated child sex abuse material is being posted online

The amount of AI-generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM) posted online is increasing, a report published Monday found.

The amount of AI-generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM) posted online is increasing, a report published Monday found.

The report, by the U.K.-based Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), highlights one of the darkest results of the proliferation of AI technology, which allows anyone with a computer and a little tech savvy to generate convincing deepfake videos. Deepfakes typically refer to misleading digital media created with artificial intelligence tools, like AI models and applications that allow users to “face-swap” a target’s face with one in a different video. Online, there is a subculture and marketplace that revolves around the creation of pornographic deepfakes.

In a 30-day review this spring of a dark web forum used to share CSAM, the IWF found a total of 3,512 CSAM images and videos created with artificial intelligence, most of them realistic. The number of CSAM images found in the review was a 17% increase from the number of images found in a similar review conducted in fall 2023.

The review of content also found that a higher percentage of material posted on the dark web is now depicting more extreme or explicit sex acts compared to six months ago.

“Realism is improving. Severity is improving. It’s a trend that we wouldn’t want to see,” said Dan Sexton, the IWF’s chief technology officer.

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/ai-generated-child-sex-abuse-material-posted-online-rcna162169

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