Table of Contents
Social media platforms combat child abuse
A coalition involving major social media platforms, artificial intelligence developers, governments, and NGO’s has been initiated to address the challenge of AI-generated abusive content. On October 30, the United Kingdom introduced this joint statement, featuring 27 signatories. Notable participants include the governments of the United States, Australia, Korea, Germany, and Italy, along with social media platforms such as Snapchat and TikTok.
In addition to government participation, AI companies like Stability AI and Ontocord.AI, alongside several NGO’s, committed to internet safety and children’s rights, have also pledged their support.
Is tech advancement a threat to our children?
The joint statement highlights the substantial potential of AI in countering online threats related to child safety. However, it acknowledges the darker aspect of technological advancement, where unscrupulous individuals can misuse AI to produce harmful content, particularly related to child welfare.
Disturbing figures from the Internet Watch Foundation underscore the seriousness of this issue. Within a short period, it was found that 11,108 AI generated images were shared in a concealed web forum, with 2,978 of them depicting explicit images that threaten child safety.
Fostering a global initiative
The U.K. government has framed the statement as a commitment to “seek to understand and, as appropriate, act on the risks arising from AI to tackling child abuse through existing fora.”
Furthermore, it encourages transparency regarding strategies for assessing, supervising and controlling the potential misuse of AI as well as the developments of of policies at a national level to address this issue.
Child safety in relation to AI has become a prominent and critical topic of discussion, particularly with the rapid advancement and widespread use of this technology.
Stay updated on all of the latest news by subscribing to the ITP Live newsletter below and by clicking the push notifications.