A Coalition of Stakeholders Pledges to Combat AI-Generated Abusive Content
A joint statement has been issued by a coalition of major social media platforms, artificial intelligence (AI) developers, governments, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), pledging to combat abusive content generated by AI. The United Kingdom released the policy statement on October 30, with 27 signatories including the governments of the United States, Australia, Korea, Germany, and Italy, as well as social media platforms like Snapchat, TikTok, and OnlyFans. The statement also received support from AI platforms Stability AI and Ontocord.AI, as well as NGOs focused on internet safety and children’s rights.
The statement acknowledges that while AI presents enormous opportunities in addressing online child sexual abuse threats, it can also be exploited by predators to create such content. Disturbingly, data from the Internet Watch Foundation revealed that out of 11,108 AI-generated images shared on a dark web forum within a month, 2,978 depicted child sexual abuse-related content.
A Pledge to Address Risks and Promote Transparency
The U.K. government emphasized that the joint statement serves as a commitment to understand and address the risks posed by AI in combating child sexual abuse through existing channels. It called for transparency in measuring, monitoring, and managing the ways in which child sexual offenders can exploit AI. Furthermore, it encouraged countries to develop policies on this issue at a national level and maintain an ongoing dialogue regarding the fight against child sexual abuse in the age of AI.
This statement was released ahead of the U.K.’s global summit on AI safety taking place this week. The concern for child safety in relation to AI has become a significant topic of discussion due to the rapid growth and widespread use of this technology. In fact, on October 26, 34 U.S. states filed a lawsuit against Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, citing concerns over child safety.
Hot Take: Collective Action is Essential to Protecting Children Online
The joint statement from social media platforms, AI developers, governments, and NGOs highlights the need for collective action to combat the abusive content generated by AI. While AI presents immense opportunities for addressing online child sexual abuse, it also poses risks when in the wrong hands. The commitment to transparency and collaboration is crucial in developing effective measures to protect children from exploitation.
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