In 2023, the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) has been investigating its first reports of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) generated by artificial intelligence (AI).

Initial investigations uncovered a world of text-to-image technology. In short, you type in what you want to see in online generators and the software generates the image.

The technology is fast and accurate – images usually fit the text description very well. Many images can be generated at once – you are only really limited by the speed of your computer. You can then pick out your favourites; edit them; direct the technology to output exactly what you want.

In total, 20,254 AI-generated images were found to have been posted to one dark web CSAM forum in a one-month period. Of these, 11,108 images were selected for assessment by IWF analysts. These were the images that were judged most likely to be criminal. — Read More