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Tech giants Meta, Google, and OpenAI have vowed to intensify their efforts to combat the use of AI for child abuse.
The companies announced their commitment to adopting and adhering to Safety by Design (SbD) principles to ensure child safety.
Google’s Machine Learning Approach
Google has updated its child safety efforts and commitments, detailing how it intends to use AI and machine learning to detect and remove content that exploits or endangers children. The company is investing in technology and partnerships to tackle this issue head-on.
Google’s advanced machine learning models have been instrumental in identifying and removing harmful content even before it is reported.
Meta to Establish Generative AI Principles
Meta has also joined the fight against child abuse. The company has partnered with Thorn and other industry partners to establish generative AI principles.
Thorn, a non-profit organization, has been at the forefront of building technology to defend children from sexual abuse. With this collaboration, Meta aims to leverage AI to detect and prevent child exploitation on its platforms.
OpenAI to Adopt SbD Principles
ChatGPT maker OpenAI has also expressed its commitment to child safety by adopting SbD principles. The organization believes in the responsible use of AI and is dedicated to ensuring that its technology does not harm children or contribute to the problem of child abuse.
AI Ethical Issues
This development follows several reports of AI-generated child sexual abuse content online. In June 2023, the BBC exposed an illegal trade in AI-generated child sexual abuse images.
Pedophiles were found to be using AI technology to create and sell lifelike child sexual abuse material, including the rape of babies and toddlers. This was facilitated by AI software called Stable Diffusion, initially intended for graphic design.
Last week, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) raised an alarm over the rise in child sexual exploitation online. Per the Guardian report, NCMEC received about 4,700 complaints of AI-generated images or videos of the sexual exploitation of children in 2023 alone.
These alarming developments further highlight the potential misuse of AI technology and the urgent need for tech companies to take action.
While adopting SbD principles is a good starting point, it requires continuous effort, innovation, and collaboration among tech companies, non-profit organizations, and governments worldwide to yield good results.
