Anthony Dover, 48, was recently convicted in Britain as a sex offender. His crime: creating more than 1,000 AI-generated images of child pornography, using the software known as Stable Diffusion. As punishment, Dover was given a community order and forced to pay a fine — and is also now banned from using any generative AI software of any kind, for any reason at all, without the explicit approval of the police, "as a condition of a sexual harm prevention order."
From The Guardian:
The ban prohibits him from using tools such as text-to-image generators, which can make lifelike pictures based on a written command, and "nudifying" websites used to make explicit "deepfakes".
[…]
Recent cases suggest it is increasingly being used to deal with the threat posed by sophisticated artificial content. In one going through the courts in England, a defendant who has indicated a guilty plea to making and distributing indecent "pseudo photographs" of under-18s was bailed with conditions including not accessing a Japanese photo-sharing platform where he is alleged to have sold and distributed artificial abuse imagery, according to court records.
In another case, a 17-year-old from Denbighshire, north-east Wales, was convicted in February of making hundreds of indecent "pseudo photographs", including 93 images and 42 videos of the most extreme category A images. At least six others have appeared in court accused of possessing, making or sharing pseudo-photographs – which covers AI generated images – in the last year.
The Guardian does also note that there's no clear data about the use, spread, or proliferation of AI-generated "pseudo photographs" (whether they depict children or adults without their consent). But either way: this feels like a complex landmark moment in the history of both AI-generated content, and of sex crimes.
Sex offender banned from using AI tools in landmark UK case [Shanti Das / The Guardian]
Previously: Alleged sex offender smashes computer in courtroom
