Former actress Kate Bell asked to borrow her partner’s laptop. When she opened it, she couldn’t believe what she found. Numerous sexual images and sex videos of her and two other women altered using artificial intelligence.
It got even worse. She discovered dozens more folders dedicated to female friends and acquaintances containing deepfake photos. “Some of them are in our work world and our friend groups,” Bell said.
Ms Bell never imagined such a horrifying image would be created by someone she knew, much less the person she was supposed to trust the most. “I died, I absolutely died that day,” she said. 60 minutes. “I was very scared of being under surveillance and sharing a home with someone who had the worst personality.”
The 42-year-old claims to have been the victim of untold digital abuse. There’s no evidence that Bell’s ex-partner shared any sexual content online, but that’s little consolation for Bell, who now works in cybersecurity.
“This is the quickest way to dehumanize women,” she said. “You don’t have to slander her anymore or whisper rumors about her. You can literally create a deepfake of her doing something vulgar and that’s it.
“[It was] Really offensive porn. The video showed me completely naked, one penis in my face, one in the front and one in the back, and my arms being pulled. ”
Ms Bell reported her ex-partner to the police. She spent 12 hours poring over what appeared to be a huge mountain of evidence. However, the investigation hit a wall. Her ex-partner refused to give detectives her cell phone passcode, limiting detectives’ ability to find out whether she shared explicit material online (a charge she denies).
“Here I have a laptop full of evidence, but I can’t use it because the original material is on my phone,” Bell said.
Bell’s ex-partner faces two criminal charges for filming Kate without her consent. Despite pleading guilty to both charges, he appealed his conviction, claiming that he secretly filmed their sexual encounters because he was mentally ill.
A magistrate dismissed the appeal, but the man was spared conviction. “That means you don’t think this is a real crime,” Bell said.
If Bell’s former partner had produced the same content today, he would face up to three years in prison under new laws introduced in February to crack down on digital abuse by AI.
NSW Cyber Crime Commander Superintendent Matt Craft said the incident highlighted the need for law enforcement to keep up with rapidly evolving technology.
“The law is very clear that if you use artificial intelligence to create an image, whether it’s an image or a recording, it’s a crime,” he said. “It is also a criminal offense to disseminate that content. So the situation is completely different.”
Although the investigation into Mr Bell’s ex-partner cannot be reopened, cybercrime police say he sent a clear message. “He now recognizes that the conduct he previously engaged in is not acceptable, and this is certainly a criminal offense punishable by imprisonment,” Mr Craft said.
Bell hopes that by sharing her story, it will highlight the importance of respecting women’s safety. “I went through hell and I want to prevent something like this from happening to anyone else,” Bell said.
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