this post was submitted on 28 Oct 2024
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Hugh Nelson, 27, from Bolton, jailed after transforming normal pictures of children into sexual abuse imagery

A man who used AI to create child abuse images using photographs of real children has been sentenced to 18 years in prison.

In the first prosecution of its kind in the UK, Hugh Nelson, 27, from Bolton, was convicted of 16 child sexual abuse offences in August, after an investigation by Greater Manchester police (GMP).

Nelson had used Daz 3D, a computer programme with an AI function, to transform “normal” images of children into sexual abuse imagery, Greater Manchester police said. In some cases, paedophiles had commissioned the images, supplying photographs of children with whom they had contact in real life.

He was also found guilty of encouraging other offenders to commit rape.

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[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 113 points 2 weeks ago (4 children)

I think the last two paragraphs in the body of this post are the real issue here, not that he was just using AI to create CSAM.

[–] Mango@lemmy.world 35 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

Right? Feels like this is being tacked on as a shot at AI. Otherwise nobody is harmed except the guy. Pedos are ick, but if harmless then why punish? I don't think anyone should have to take a fall because others think their desires are gross.

[–] Jake_Farm@sopuli.xyz 53 points 2 weeks ago (20 children)

Because they are using images of real children.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 25 points 2 weeks ago (8 children)

I agree, but if there were some way to create CSAM without using real children (I'm not sure how you would train such an AI model), it would probably be worth seeing if that did anything to make pedophiles less likely to act out on their desires.

Because my god, we need to figure out something.

[–] Zorque@lemmy.world 20 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I mean trying to help them get treatment instead of going all pod-people on anyone showing even the possibility of being attracted to kids would be helpful.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 22 points 2 weeks ago

I've been saying that for ages. Obviously we don't want to enable any pedophiles to do anything horrific to children, but we're at a state right now where if you have those urges to begin with, you're basically already told to accept that you're an incurable monster. So why not act on the urges?

Somehow we need to get through to such people that they need to get help before they do anything terrible. I'm not sure how to do that in the current climate though.

[–] JohnEdwa@sopuli.xyz 7 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

The way AI models work, you don't have to train it on the thing you want it to do, you can ask it to combine the things it knows about. Take any of the meme loras for example, like pepe punch or patcha.

So literally any model that can generate pictures of naked adults and clothed children - which is to say almost all of them - is going to be at least somewhat competent in creating CP unless those prompts are being actively censored and blocked.

[–] Danquebec@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Wouldn't that generate images of children with small-sized adult bodies?

If it doesn't know what a child's body looks like, it can't just figure it out.

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[–] otp@sh.itjust.works 5 points 2 weeks ago

Train it to depict humans that look like anime characters that are ~~definitely 18 or older~~ immortal dragons that are taking on the bodies of young human beings

DisclaimerI am not condoning, endorsing, or suggesting this

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[–] cygnus@lemmy.ca 16 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

I think this was a crime because he modified images of actual kids. If the images were 100% AI (not of real people) I'm not sure on what basis that would be considered a crime, no more than a handmade drawing of a nude minor drawn from imagination.

[–] FourPacketsOfPeanuts@lemmy.world 24 points 2 weeks ago (5 children)

Any sexual representation of a child is illegal in the UK whether it looks real or not. In fact I believe it doesn't need to even be a child, it's a illegal if a reasonable person would believe it was depicting a child. This came up when adults who were into age play got into trouble distributing their images because it looked convincingly underage.

[–] Jake_Farm@sopuli.xyz 28 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Wait so even if the subjects are adults in costume its illegal? Fuck man, school uniforms is a whole genre of porn.

[–] Zorque@lemmy.world 20 points 2 weeks ago

It's not about reducing harm to children, it's about moral superiority.

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[–] AmidFuror@fedia.io 17 points 2 weeks ago

And I suppose we can rely on the courts to know sexual when they see it, so people don't get in trouble for taking pictures of cherubs at the Louvre.

[–] cygnus@lemmy.ca 3 points 2 weeks ago

Thanks for clarifying, I didn't know that. Seems like a bit of an overreach to me, but I suppose in this particular case it's best to err on the side of caution.

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[–] Mango@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago

I don't really think anything is 100% AI. I also don't really believe in the concept of thought being a crime and extend personally kept data to that realm.

[–] NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago

In the US federally you might be able to get away with creating the images for yourself if they are 100% fictional, but the guy also was doing commission work. The moment you start transmitting the images (and selling would involve that) it becomes very very illegal.

[–] wesker@lemmy.sdf.org 8 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

The fuck? Nothing about generating and distributing CSAM material is harmless, and especially if images of real children are being used to generate it.

[–] Mango@lemmy.world 5 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] otp@sh.itjust.works 4 points 2 weeks ago (19 children)

Would it harm you to have identifiable nude photos of you available for download on the internet?

Would it harm you to have identifiable nude photos of you being used to train AI so that it can create more nude images that are "inspired" by your nude images?

Would you be happy to upload your children's nude photos so that people on the internet can share them and masturbate to them? Would you be harmed if your parents had done that with your images?

[–] Cryophilia@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Most AI generated images are not of real, identifiable people. I agree that deepfake porn is bad, whether of a child or adult, but that's a separate category.

[–] otp@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

You're definitely right, and I'm aware. The smaller the sample size, though, the more likely an AI art generator would create something that looks very similar to a given individual.

As well, some AI art generators accept prompt images to use as a starting point.

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[–] Silentiea@lemmy.blahaj.zone 10 points 2 weeks ago

There's the fact that the images he was creating were pictures of real kids. Deep fake porn is already creepy enough, add in that it was csam....

[–] CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org 8 points 2 weeks ago

Yeah, that changes it a bit - that definitely has more of a creep factor. I still question if it's really the kind of thing that should land you in jail for a long time.