South Korea Is Facing an AI-Generated Deepfake Porn Crisis
The industry creating AI technology must develop safeguards to address this epidemic.
South Korea has been rocked by a wave of sexually explicit deepfake images being created and shared online, indiscriminately targeting women and girls using their school photos, social media selfies and even military headshots. A Telegram channel with more than 220,000 participants was reportedly being used to create and share these artificial intelligence-generated pornographic images, serving as a global reminder of the darker consequences from the widespread rush for this technology.
Users could upload photos and in a matter of seconds create explicit content with the faces of their friends, classmates or romantic partners. The initial reporting from local news outlets prompted more women to come forward as victims and more Telegram channels being exposed, revealing the true scale of the issue. Many of the victims involved are minors. Protesters wearing white masks over their eyes gathered in Seoul calling for justice late last month.