Online chatbots are generating nude images of real people at the request of users, prompting concern from experts who worry that clear fakes will create “a very nightmare scenario”.
A Wired investigation into messaging app Telegram uncovered dozens of AI-powered chatbots that allegedly “create explicit photos or videos of people with just a few clicks,” the media reported. Some “undress” user-supplied images, according to Wired, while others say they can produce X-rated photos of people engaging in sexual activity.
Pika estimated that roughly 4 million users per month benefit from the deep falsification capabilities of chatbots, of which there were about 50. Such AI-generating worlds promised to provide “anything you want about the face or clothes of the photo that you give me,” Wired reported.
“We’re talking about a significant, order-of-magnitude increase in the number of people who are clearly using and creating this kind of content,” deepfake expert Henry Ajder, who was one of the first to discover the world of Telegram’s clear chatbots underground four years ago, told Wired.
“It’s really disturbing that these tools – which are really destroying lives and creating a very nightmare scenario for young girls and women in particular – are still so easy to access and find on the web surface, in one of the largest applications in the world.”
While celebrities have fallen victim to the rise of porn fakes — from Taylor Swift to Jenna Ortega — there have also been recent reports of teenage girls being used to create fake nude photos, some of which have been used in “blackmail” cases. “. A recent survey even found that 40% of American students reported the circulation of “deepfakes” in their schools.
Deepfake sites have flourished amid advances in AI technology, according to Wired, but have faced intense scrutiny from lawmakers. In August, the San Francisco attorney’s office sued more than a dozen “stripping” websites.
On Telegram, bots can be used for translations, games and alerts – or, in this case, to create dangerous fakes. When contacted by Wired about the chatbot’s apparent content, the company did not respond for comment, but the bots and associated channels suddenly disappeared, though the creators vowed to “make another bot” the next day.
“These types of false images can damage a person’s health and well-being by causing psychological trauma and feelings of humiliation, fear, embarrassment and shame,” Emma Pickering, head of technology-enabled abuse and economic empowerment in the UK. Domestic abuse organization Refuge told Wired.
“While this form of abuse is common, perpetrators are rarely held accountable and we know that this type of abuse is becoming more common in intimate partner relationships.”
Elena Michale, director and co-founder of the advocacy group #NotYourPorn, told Wired that it’s “disturbing” how challenging it is to “track and monitor” apps on Telegram that may be promoting this type of explicit imagery.
“Imagine if you were a survivor who had to do this on your own, certainly the burden shouldn’t be on one individual,” she said. “Certainly the burden should be on the company to put something in place that is proactive rather than reactive.”
Non-consensual fake pornography is banned in many countries, but experts say Telegram’s terms of service are unclear about X-rated content.
“I would say that it’s actually not clear whether creating or sharing non-consensual intimate images is prohibited on the platform,” Kate Ruane, director of the Center for Democracy and Technology’s free expression project, told Wired.
Earlier this year, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov was arrested and charged with facilitating child pornography, though he vowed that “little has changed” in the way his app works and its privacy policy since the arrest his.
In a recent statement, he claimed that the platform has routinely cooperated with law enforcement when asked to do so, vowing that the company “does not allow criminals to abuse our platform or evade justice.”
“Using laws from the pre-smartphone era to charge a CEO with crimes committed by third parties on the platform he manages is the wrong approach,” Durov wrote in a Telegram post.
“Construction technology is difficult enough as it is. No innovator will ever build new tools if they know they can be held personally responsible for the potential abuse of those tools.”
Experts, however, say Telegram should be held accountable.
“Telegram gives you search functionality, so it lets you identify communities, conversations, and bots,” Ajder said.
“It provides bot hosting functionality, so it’s somewhere that provides the tools in place. Then it’s also where you can break it down and actually execute the damage in terms of the bottom line.”
#Millions #people #creating #nude #images #minutes #robots #nightmare #scenario
Image Source : nypost.com