A chatbot site offering explicit scenarios with preteen characters, illustrated by illegal abuse images has raised fresh fears about the misuse of artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n
A report by a child safety watchdog has triggered calls for the UK government to impose safety guidelines on AI companies, amid a surge<\/a> in child sexual abuse material (CSAM) created by the technology.<\/p>\n The Internet Watch Foundation said it had been alerted to a chatbot site that offered a number of scenarios including \u201cchild prostitute in a hotel\u201d, \u201csex with your child while your wife is on holiday\u201d and \u201cchild and teacher alone after class\u201d.<\/p>\n In some cases, according to the IWF, chatbot icons expanded into full-screen depictions of child sexual abuse imagery when clicked upon \u2013 and formed the background image for subsequent chats between the bot and the user.<\/p>\n The IWF said it found 17 images that were AI-generated, photo-realistic and could be considered child sexual abuse material under the Protection of Children<\/a> Act.<\/p>\n Users of the site, which IWF has not named for safety reasons, are also given the option of generating more images similar to the illegal content already on display.<\/p>\n The UK-based IWF, which has a global remit to monitor child sexual abuse content, said any forthcoming AI regulation should require child-protecting guidelines being built into AI models from the outset.<\/p>\n The government has announced plans for an AI bill that is expected to focus on future development of cutting-edge models, and is outlawing the possession and distribution of models that generate child sexual abuse in the crime and policing bill.<\/p>\n \u201cThe UK government is making welcome strides in tackling AI-generated child sexual abuse images and videos and the tools that create them, and the new criminal offences in the forthcoming crime and policing bill cannot come soon enough. But more needs to be done, and faster,\u201d said the IWF\u2019s chief executive, Kerry Smith.<\/p>\n The child protection charity the NSPCC also called for guidelines. \u201cTech companies must introduce robust measures to ensure children\u2019s safety is not neglected and government must implement a statutory duty of care to children for AI developers,\u201d said the NSPCC\u2019s chief executive, Chris Sherwood.<\/p>\n A user-created chatbot falls within scope of the UK\u2019s Online Safety Act<\/a>, under which sites can be punished with multimillion-pound fines or, in extreme cases, blocked. The IWF said the sexual abuse chatbots were developed by users and the website\u2019s creators.<\/p>\n Ofcom, the UK watchdog charged with implementing the act, said: \u201cThe fight against child sexual exploitation and abuse is a top priority for Ofcom, and online service providers who fail to introduce the necessary protections should expect to face enforcement action.\u201d<\/p>\n