AI Peril #4 – Abuse of Women and Girls By Alec Hill

Confronting a Clear and Present Danger to Women and Girls

A conservative Spanish town went into an uproar after several middle school girls received incredibly accurate naked images of themselves on their cell phones. Ashamed, depressed, and helpless, many refused to leave home. None had ever posed in the nude.

An investigation discovered that a group of boys – classmates of the girls – were the culprits. For ten euros, they had created 25 naked images. All they needed was a fully clothed Instagram photo, and the app did the rest.

Due to their age, no action was taken against the boys. Once online, the photos made their way to various porn sites where they became permanently housed.  

Harmless?

Every technology has good and bad purposes. But now the power of AI sets it apart. In the hands of the malevolent, it is a tool capable of inflicting immense harm.

In her book, The New Age of Sexism, Laura Bates presents a chilling account of the role that AI plays in degrading women and girls. Of all deepfakes, 96% involve images of women.

After speaking out on this issue, faux sexual videos of Bates began to appear online. Her reaction?

“I started to sweat…I felt like I needed to take a shower… Fear sets in… How many people have seen it? My boss? My parents? You’ll be walking down the street and never know if someone is looking at you because they’ve seen it. The perpetrator could be anyone. How are you ever going to trust anyone again? You would like to tear off your own face just to become anonymous.”

In an interview, the owner of one of England’s largest porn sites defended posting such images: “As long as you’re not trying to pass it off as the real thing, it shouldn’t matter because it’s basically fake. I don’t feel that consent is required: It’s a fantasy, not real.”

That’s certainly not how Taylor Swift felt after 45 million viewers watched a deepfake of her being sexually assaulted. The video was only posted for 18 hours.

Such treatment of women and girls should enrage us. The biblical doctrine of holiness condemns sex abuse, whether physical or psychological. Jesus warned that sin resides not only in physical acts but in the imagination as well (Matt 5:28). Declaring image-based abuse harmless is clearly contrary to the teachings of Scripture (1 John 2:16).

The Future

Nations are scrambling to regulate the posting of non-consensual images online. The European Union recently banned “nudification” apps of children. England, Indonesia, and Spain are moving to include adults as well.

In the United States, passage of the “Take it Down Act” last year was a step in the right direction. However, in its first 12 months, the law resulted in only a single conviction. One.

Critics point out two structural flaws inherent in the legislation. First, it only punishes those who publish images, not those who create them. Second, violators have up to 48 hours to remove offensive images. In the meantime, illicit images can be gobbled up on private sites.

Criminalization doesn’t make nudification apps disappear. Far from it, because the demand (and profits) skyrocket, so do the number of bad actors in a multimillion-dollar industry.

In a whack-a-mole scenario, enforcers always seem to be a step behind. Tech-savvy users can run AI programs on their personal computers, remaining invisible to regulators.

Things get even darker with the rise of AI sex robots that now look, feel, and talk like real women. Some manufacturers focus exclusively on young girl dolls. It is possible to have a custom-made sex doll made from a photo. Former LA Laker Lamar Odom did exactly that with his ex-spouse, Khloe Kardashian. Creepy.

Personal Note

As I think of my wife, two daughters, and three granddaughters, the misuse of technology sickens me. To attack a problem of this magnitude, we will need both moral renewal and sensible law enforcement. In my darker moments, I remain less than optimistic on both fronts.

Alec Hill is President Emeritus of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship USA. This essay is an adaptation from the forthcoming fourth edition of his book Just Business: Christian Ethics in the Marketplace (IVP). 

Don’t miss the complete AI Peril Series:

• AI Peril #1: Flattering Chatbots By Alec Hill
• AI Peril #2: Diminished Critical Thinking and Your Brain By Alec Hill
• AI Peril #3: Data Swamps By Alec Hill

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