An American, who had generated thousands of child pornography images with artificial intelligence, has been arrested. This is a first, which already shows the omnipresence of technology in the creation of this type of content.
An American man has been arrested for possessing, producing and distributing images of child pornography and child abuse. Until then, unfortunately, nothing very new. Except that this Wisconsin resident had created these photos himself, using an artificial intelligence image generation tool, the US Department of Justice announced on May 20, 2024.
“ Today’s announcement sends a clear message that using AI to produce sexually explicit images of children is illegal », Indicates the ministry in its press release. “ In other words, child pornography generated by artificial intelligence is still child pornography, and we will hold accountable those who exploit artificial intelligence to create obscene, abusive, and increasingly photorealistic images of children. »
AI-generated child pornography images are a huge problem
The man arrested reportedly used a text-image generative artificial intelligence model called Stable Diffusion to create thousands of realistic images of prepubescent minors », Also indicates the ministry. Stable Diffusion is a tool that works on the same principle as Midjourney: users must enter a “ prompt », a written command, so that the AI presents them with a result. Stable Diffusion is free, open-source, and works in online versions, or by running it locally, on your computer.
AI image generation tools, such as Midjourney, have measures in place to prevent the creation of images of certain people, or violent or sexual content. However, it remains possible to override AI blockages. The American would have created “ thousands » photos « depicting nude or partially clothed minors displaying or touching their genitals in a lascivious manner or having sexual intercourse with men », Specifies the ministry.
The man also allegedly sent Instagram messages to a 15-year-old boy and sent him AI-created images of child pornography, explaining how he used Stable Diffusion to create them.
The arrival of tools for generating images represents an immense challenge in the fight against child pornography. Even if American justice considers that “ technology may change, but our commitment to protecting children does not “, the number of tools available makes the task very difficult. There are hundreds of apps and Telegram channels specializing in the creation of pornographic deepfakes, and certain AIs allow you to “undress” photos of women and children.
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