Crackdown on AI child abuse images

BRITAIN will be a trailblazer by bringing in new sex offences to stop predators using artificial intelligence to create images of child abuse.

- By David Williamson

AI tools are being used to generate child sex abuse images, often by "nudeifying" pictures or putting a minor's face on existing pictures.

These are then often used to blackmail children and force them into actual physical sexual abuse.

The NSPCC says its Childline service is hearing from youths on "the devastating impact it can have when AI-made images of them are created and shared".

The UK will be the first country to make it illegal to possess, create or distribute AI tools that can generate such material, punishable with up to five years in prison.