Pornographic images of an American star created by artificial intelligence (AI) have reached tens of millions of social network users. After just one night, the female singer’s power was penetrated.

This event is a story that contains all the elements of the times: Artificial General Intelligence, the technology that is shaking the world of imaging; a global superstar, capable of influencing the US economy and the serious failures of social network X

The case began last week, when pornographic images of international superstar Taylor Swift created by AI first appeared on social network X.

Taylor Swift’s world tour The Eras Tour takes place from March 2023 to November 2024 and contributes to the US economy.

Immediately after that, the pornographic images were reposted by many accounts, attracting up to 47 million views. “Taylor Swift AI” became one of the most commented topics on many platforms. It spread rapidly, forcing the US Government to intervene.

To protect their idol, Taylor Swift’s strong fan community tried to “dub” this content with videos and images proving that the scandal was created by AI.

Power is penetrated

Despite the defense by members of “swifties” (Taylor Swift fan club), pornographic images still spread strongly on X. The platform launched a hunt for talented people. account to spread images to block access and even block searches related to this female singer.

But the damage done was huge, the sensitive images were not only viewed tens of millions of times, they were constantly re-shared on other online spaces. After just one night, the female singer’s power was penetrated.

Degrading women by turning them into sex objects or creating pornographic images has been going on for a long time.

More than 100 years ago, the New York Evening Graphic used composite photographs and superimposed the heads of some people onto the bodies of others to present sexually explicit images of women.

Taylor Swift earned billions of dollars on her Eras Tour.

The Taylor Swift scandal has issued a warning about the future of online sexual abuse, if countries and technology companies do not act.

Platform governance researcher, Carolina Are, Northumbria University (UK) said: “This scandal has highlighted a number of issues including: Society’s treatment of women’s sexuality and the division Sharing unauthorized images, whether stolen or AI-generated.

The victims of these images are truly powerless over their own bodies in the digital space. But for many social network users, this is normal, the important thing is that it satisfies their personal entertainment needs.”

British technology expert Henry Ajder shared: “Deepfake technology exists in our lives, and the world will have to accept incidents in which negative and harmful content is created using this very tool”.

Deepfake technology is an image and video editing and collage tool.

Taylor Swift is not the first person to become a victim through AI-generated pornographic images. Last October, a town in Spain was “torn” when Deepfake pornographic images appeared on social networks with the participation of more than 20 women and girls, the youngest of whom was only 11 years old. .

The case attracted a lot of attention from the international community, after several female students accused them of receiving nude photos of themselves. Notably, the images were “taken” with an application that integrates AI.

Immediately after that, this application caused a huge controversy about the harmful effects it causes. This technology is also used as a means to blackmail victims.

A non-academic analysis of nearly 100,000 fake videos published online in 2023 found that 98% of all content was pornographic and 99% of videos featured women.

Deepfake technology is increasingly being used by cyber criminals to extort money from social network users

Of the people appearing in the video, 94% work in the entertainment industry. A survey of 1,500 American men found that three-quarters of those who viewed AI-generated Deepfake pornography did not feel guilty about it.

1/3 of people share, the individual knows it’s not that person so it’s harmless and doesn’t hurt anyone, as long as it meets personal entertainment needs.

A law in New York stipulates that sharing sexual images without the owner’s consent, including Deepfake content, is illegal. Users who spread these images could face jail time.

Glitch CEO Seyi Akiwowo, a digital rights organization, said: “It is clear that the systematic disregard for the ‘sovereignty’ of the human body is taking place. Especially with fake pornography.” impersonation is sexual abuse and harassment.”

To prevent this, technology companies need to act decisively to protect women and marginalized communities from the potential harms of Deepfake.

Warning

Republican Congressman Tom Kean warned: “AI is advancing faster than necessary protections. Whether the victim is Taylor Swift or any young person, we must put in place protections.” to combat this worrying phenomenon.”

After the female singer’s scandal, a law prohibiting the dissemination of sensitive images using Deepfake technology was introduced before the US House of Representatives Judiciary Committee in the hope of changing the current situation.

Taylor Swift’s scandal forced American politicians to get involved.

If this law is passed, the act of sharing sensitive content incorporating real people’s faces, without receiving the consent of the owner, will become a crime. At that time, those who produce and distribute content will have to face penalties such as imprisonment, fines or both of the above penalties.

Deepfake technology is also causing concerns as the US election approaches.

According to CNN, a fake recording of US President Joe Biden’s voice urged voters not to vote in the primary election in New Hampshire on January 22.

The Sun newspaper also said that AI technology is now being leveraged to influence politics, driven by the rise of cheap, intuitive and relatively effective AI tools.

“Deepfake will certainly become the center of the 2024 US Presidential election. Propagandists can use it to create fake documents, audio, and videos about candidates, to influence public opinion and the possibility of division in society,” Ms. Theresa Payton, former White House Information Director, shared with The Sun.