A recent study has uncovered a disturbing trend: a significant rise in the creation of AI-generated child sexual abuse material on the dark web. Research conducted by Anglia Ruskin University indicates a clear and growing demand for such content among online offenders.

The study, led by Dr. Deanna Davy and Prof. Sam Lundrigan, involved analyzing conversations in dark web forums over the past year. The findings reveal that members of these forums are actively educating themselves on how to generate child sexual abuse images using AI. They are accessing online guides, videos, and sharing techniques with one another to create this illegal content.

Forum members have been utilizing existing non-AI child sexual abuse material to learn how to produce AI-generated images. Some participants in these forums even referred to those generating the images as “artists,” while others expressed optimism about the potential advancements in technology to simplify the creation of such content.

Dr. Davy emphasized that AI-generated child sexual abuse material represents a “rapidly growing problem,” underscoring the need for a deeper understanding of how offenders are creating and distributing this material and its impact on offender behavior. She also highlighted a common misconception that AI-generated images are “victimless,” stressing that many offenders manipulate real images of children to create more explicit content, often escalating from less graphic to more severe imagery.

(Adapted from AIBase.com)

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