Landmark Conviction: South Korea Sets Precedent by Sentencing Man for AI-Generated Child Pornography

A man in his 40s from South Korea has recently been convicted and imprisoned for utilizing artificial intelligence to produce pornographic images of children. This landmark case marks the first of its kind in the country, highlighting the growing global concern regarding the emergence of new technologies being used to create exploitative sexual content. The individual, whose identity remains undisclosed, has been given a prison sentence of two and a half years by the Busan District Court and the Public Prosecutors Office.

The CNN has been informed by the prosecutors office that he generated around 360 AI-generated images in April. These images were confiscated by the police and were not circulated.

During the case, the prosecutors contended that the definition of sexually exploitative material should encompass depictions of sexual behaviors involving "virtual humans," rather than solely focusing on the physical appearance of real children.

The prosecutors office stated that the ruling proved that sexually abusive content can encompass realistic imagery of children and minors created using advanced technology. This case arises at a time when governments worldwide are wrestling with the rapid growth of the AI industry, which has profound implications on various aspects such as copyright, intellectual property, national security, personal privacy, and explicit content.

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AI's role in violating people's bodily autonomy and safety, particularly with regards to women and minors, has come under scrutiny due to instances such as the recent case in South Korea. As a result, there is a pressing need to expedite the regulation of nonconsensual deepfake pornography, prompting many to take action.

Earlier this month, Spanish authorities initiated a probe following the circulation of doctored images of underage girls, wherein artificial intelligence (AI) was utilized to digitally remove their clothing. Shockingly, in one occurrence, a young boy attempted to coerce one of the girls by employing a manipulated image of her in the nude, as disclosed by the girl's mother to Canal Extremadura, a television channel.

For several years, the emergence of deepfakes, which are remarkably authentic counterfeit videos generated using AI, has facilitated the insertion of women's faces into graphic pornographic scenes without their consent. These deceitful videos often exhibit such a high level of realism that it becomes challenging for their female victims to deny their authenticity.

The matter gained significant attention from the general public earlier this year in February, as it was revealed that a prominent male streamer of video games had obtained deepfake videos featuring a number of his female colleagues in the streaming community.

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Samantha Cole, a reporter with Vices Motherboard, expressed her concern about the misuse of deepfakes for creating non-consensual pornography, where women's images are manipulated without their consent.

Twitch, the streaming platform, responded to the controversy by strengthening its policies and condemning the deepfake sexual videos as "harmful and deeply distressing." Other major platforms are also revising their rules, with TikTok imposing additional restrictions on the sharing of AI deepfakes in March.

In June, the European Union became one of the pioneering authorities to establish regulations governing the use of AI by companies, followed by China in July. Moreover, in September, prominent tech figures such as Bill Gates, Elon Musk, and Mark Zuckerberg gathered in Washington as the Senate began drafting legislation on AI.