A Spanish court has reportedly fined 15 young people accused of using artificial intelligence to create nude images of two female classmates and distributing them in a WhatsApp group.
The court sentenced the boys to one year of probation and to attend seminars on gender equality and the appropriate use of information and communications technology. They were charged with 20 counts of producing child sexual abuse images and 20 counts of violating the moral integrity of the victims.
(Photo by John Schnobrich on Unsplash)
Police began investigating the case last year after parents in Almendralejo, Extremadura, claimed fake nude photos of their daughter were being spread on WhatsApp. The mother of one of the victims said the images had been circulating on WhatsApp since July.
Police identified several young people between the ages of 13 and 15 as those who created and distributed the photos.
Under Spanish law, minors under the age of 14 cannot be prosecuted, but their cases can be referred to child protection agencies and they can be required to attend rehabilitation courses.
The Malvaruna Association, which represents the families of those injured, said the incident had far-reaching effects on Spanish society.
The court said the case highlighted the importance of providing proper sex education in schools to ensure that children learning about sex through pornography does not promote misogyny and violence.
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Global Concerns Over AI Nudity Incident
The Spanish case is the latest in a trend that highlights the troubling nature of AI's ability to generate nude images of just about anyone. Just last April, a group of students in London faced a similar situation.
Students at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Secondary School have begun sharing AI-transformed images of other students, with school administrators saying photos of children on social networking platforms have been altered by AI to make them appear nude.
As a result, the London-based students have called for an artificial intelligence-centric education that focuses on avoiding fake nudity, rather than simply cheating in exams.
One student who claims to have been victimized by AI-generated nude images of herself says she doesn't know who the perpetrator is, but she feels embarrassed by her classmates' actions. She describes it as “very frustrating,” saying she wants others to believe it wasn't her doing, but feels embarrassed even though she knows it wasn't her doing.
The young man claimed that while professors warn students not to use AI to cheat on exams and papers, they rarely explain how it could be used in more creative and innovative ways. Griffin Gardner, a 15-year-old ninth-grader, said he had heard that girls in years 9 and 11 had been targeted.
Gardner claims he hasn't seen the photos himself, but knows people who have, and adds that the public needs to understand more about AI to prevent it from getting worse. He suggests some people spread it to get attention and make other young people feel uneasy.
Australian AI nude
Meanwhile, in Australia, the first person to exploit AI-generated child abuse material in the state was a Tasmanian man, who was convicted of collecting, distributing and downloading hundreds of illegal AI-generated content.
After being arrested and charged, the Gravelly Beach man pleaded guilty on March 26, 2024, to receiving and possessing child abuse material.
The Australian Federal Police, as part of an investigation by the Tasmanian Joint Child Exploitation Task Force (TAS-JACET), claim this is the first conviction in Tasmania for AI-generated content intended to exploit children.
Related article: Training AI models with photos of Australian minors raises privacy concerns
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