"Deepnudes" are prevalent among young Belgians, with more than one in ten having been sent one of these images, a new study by Antwerp University has revealed. Researchers were taken aback by the results and are sounding the alarm about the consequences and legal repercussions.
The findings came out after people aged between 15 and 25 were asked if they are familiar with the applications that create the explicit images. Not only were a significant proportion of respondents knowledgeable about the websites and applications that make the images, but just under one in ten have actively created the images themselves – an act that in many circumstances is illegal. Making a deepnude without permission is considered an act of voyeurism.
Respondents explained the peer pressure that surrounds image-sharing, with various social media platforms making this central to how young people communicate. Whilst the major image generators such as Dall-E have features built in to prevent users from creating such explicit content, numerous alternative sites circumvent these safety features.
More worrying were the reasons for creating and sharing these images. Of the respondents who admitted to having used the sites, 18% had done so out of curiosity. But many more were spurred by less innocuous motivations: 14% did it "to humiliate someone"; another 14% "to have power"; and 22% "to gain status with friends". The most common reason though (23%) was as an act of revenge.
Recognising the enormous risk
Legal experts and mental health specialists concur that the damage that can result from this technology can be life-changing. "Being a victim of deepnuding can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorders, depression, loss of self-confidence and even suicidal thoughts," professor Catherine Van de Heyning, co-principal author of the study, told Het Nieuwsblad.
She warned that many young users are unaware of how serious AI images can be in the eyes of the law: "They don't see the difference between a Snapchat filter giving someone bunny ears and an app undressing people." But sharing these images is liable to the same treatment as for revenge porn.
The vast majority of victims are women. Previous research has already shown that 96% of all deepfakes in circulation online are sexually explicit and in 98% of cases depict women. Last month for instance, Twitter was flooded with AI nude images of Taylor Swift.
It's been 24 hours since the OpenAI changed the AI video world with Sora.
Here are the 14 most mindblowing video generations so far (100% AI-generated): 1. A tabby cat going through the woods pic.twitter.com/6cu54iZYFD — Rowan Cheung (@rowancheung) February 16, 2024
The stakes are even higher as OpenAI – the leading artificial intelligence developer – on Thursday unveiled its new Sora video creator. This takes the capabilities of the technology to a new level, with the ability to create entirely realistic videos in just seconds from written prompts.
The technology is at once impressive and disquieting. Though not yet available to the general public, its release is expected soon and raises major ethical, social and legal questions in an era when video and images can quickly "go viral", having the potential to do enormous harm and cause massive societal disruption through the spread of compelling disinformation.
