Nudify bots to create naked AI images in seconds rampant on Telegram: Nightmarish scenario

Online chatbots are generating nude images of real people at users’ requests, prompting concern from experts who worry the explicit deepfakes will create “a very nightmarish scenario.”A Wired investigation on the messaging app Telegram unearthed dozens of AI-powered chatbots that allegedly “create explicit photos or videos of people with only a couple clicks,” the outlet reported.Some “remove clothes” from images provided by users, according to Wired, while others say they can manufacture X-rated photos of people engaging in sexual activity.The outlet estimated that approximately 4 million users per month take advantage of the deepfake capabilities from the chatbots, of which there were an estimated 50.

Such generative AI bots promised to deliver “anything you want about the face or clothes of the photo you give me,” Wired reported.“We’re talking about a significant, orders-of-magnitude increase in the number of people who are clearly actively using and creating this kind of content,” deepfake expert Henry Ajder, who was one of the first to discover the underground world of explicit Telegram chatbots four years ago, told Wired.“It is really concerning that these tools — which are really ruining lives and creating a very nightmarish scenario primarily for young girls and for women — are still so easy to access and to find on the surface web, on one of the biggest apps in the world.”While celebrities have fallen victim to the rise of pornographic deepfakes — from Taylor Swift to Jenna Ortega — there have also been recent reports of teen girls being used to create deepfake nude photos, some of which have been used in cases of “sextortion.” A recent survey even revealed that 40% of US students reported the circulation of deepfakes in their schools.Deepfake sites have flourished amid advancements in AI technology, according to Wired, but have been met with intense scrutiny from lawmakers.

In August, the San Francisco attorney’...