AI has some useful real-world applications, but the potential for harm is also extremely high, with AI “deepfakes” being one of the most obvious and concerning areas. This was highlighted at the start of this year, when it was revealed “nudify” apps were prevalent on both major smartphone app stores.
A report from the Tech Transparency Project (TTP) has claimed that nothing has changed for Google’s Play Store and Apple’s App Store (via Engadget). According to the report, both stores still have a number of these controversial apps, and even worse, many are marketed as “E” for everyone, meaning children can download and use them.
A new scourge in app stores
So-called “nudify” apps are simple to explain. Image editors at their core, these apps are able to use generative AI to edit images, remove unwanted elements, and create new details to slot in. You might recognize the basic idea being identical to features like Google Photo’s Magic Editor. However, those features have safety features, while many of these nudify apps do not.
There are no prizes for guessing what these nudify apps are used for. Generative AI gives them the ability to digitally strip people in images, potentially creating pornographic images from shots of anyone.
This is bad enough by itself, but the TTP’s report also claims 31 of these apps have not been adequately vetted, and were rated as “E” for everyone. As such, these were available to and pushed to children, opening them to various avenues for harm.
The full report contains a long rundown of some of the apps in question, and exactly what they’re capable of, but suffice it to say here that the potential for harm is extremely high. Even worse, it’s clear they’re also a lucrative business, with the TTP’s report saying the apps they looked at had generated around $122 million in revenue, and had been downloaded almost 500 million times.
When asked for comment by the TTP, Google stated that many of the apps mentioned in the report had been removed from its store. Apple also removed a number of the apps, despite refusing to comment.
The problems caused by these apps are obvious and clear, and there have already been moves made to ban them where possible. The UK government has begun an attempt to ban them for good, which is a good idea, considering the damage these sorts of apps are already causing in schools and elsewhere.
I have no doubt that Apple and Google would have removed these apps the moment they were made aware of them, as they have both claimed. However, the propensity of these apps and their apparent value must mean a change in how apps of this sort are rated and dealt with, as apps of this nature will only become more common if generative AI continues to exist in this form.