AI deepfake warning after schoolgirl photos targeted

admin admin | 06-13 08:20

Deepfake apps with the ability to impose women's heads on naked bodies are being pushed on social media as experts warn more advanced software could be on the horizon.

Monash University associate professor Asher Flynn, who specialises in technology-facilitated violence, said tech giants should be responsible for hosting promotion of the apps.

"You can have these advertised on an Instagram feed and just it'll be an app or a different website that you can go to where you can actually upload an image of any female," she told AAP.

"Usually they're just for women, so it will remove the clothing and replace it with female genitalia, breasts, and you've got a realistic, fake, sexualised image available."

It follows the arrest of a teenage boy after manipulated images were shared of girls in years 9 to 12 at Bacchus Marsh Grammar, northwest of Melbourne.

ADVERTISEMENT

Flynn said not enough was being done to stamp out access to the software.

"This type of technology is new in the sense that we're seeing escalation of it and the quality of the images that are being created," she said.

"And it's just becoming more accessible. Three years ago, you'd have to search for it and go to kind of the underground platforms to find it, now it's readily available."

Laws cracking down on the sharing of sexually explicit AI-generated images and deepfakes without consent were recently introduced to Australia's federal parliament.

However, concerns remain about the availability of online programmes to create deepfake images.

University of Melbourne associate professor Toby Murray, who specialises in computer security, said he expects to see further developments in AI's capabilities in the near future.

"If we are worried about deepfake images today, or deepfake voices today, then tomorrow we're going to be more worried about deepfake videos," he said.

ADVERTISEMENT

"One of the other things that we're now seeing is these technologies converging together, and people creating AI technology that are capable of pulling all [the features] together."

Bacchus Marsh Grammar has said it is counselling students after it was made aware of the production and circulation of video content including images of about 50 students.

"Bacchus Marsh Grammar is taking this matter very seriously and has contacted Victoria Police," acting principal Kevin Richardson said in a statement.

Police arrested the teenager over the explicit images circulated online and he was released pending further inquiries.

The investigation remains ongoing.

Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.


ALSO READ

USD exchange rates today: Rupee and other major currencies

The latest currency exchange rates have been updated, showing fluctuating values across major intern...

PSX KSE-100 index gains 158 points after profit-taking

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 Index ended 158 points higher on Monday, closing...

Gold prices in Pakistan reach record high with Rs268,000 per tola

Gold prices in Pakistan continued their upward trend, reaching a new record high on Monday. In the l...

Wall Street mixed as markets digest last week’s gains

NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks were mixed early on Monday as markets attempt to build off last week’s ...

Plucked and coloured: Auckland woman fined after doves found suffering

An Auckland woman has been prosecuted and banned from keeping animals for five years after birds in ...

Trump taking breather from campaign when Secret Service saw a rifle

Today was to be a day of relative rest for Donald Trump, a rare breather this deep into a presidenti...