The pastor shows that the world’s first criminal measure to commit the crime of owning, using or distributing artificial intelligence technology to integrate obscene images of children.
The government claims that the UK will become the first country in the world to introduce legislation targeting the use of artificial intelligence tools to create images of child abuse.
Four new laws make it illegal to own or distribute AI tools designed to create child sex abuse material (CSAM). Crimes can be punished in prison for up to five years.
AI-generated CSAM refers to content that is fully or partially created with technology. The tools are used to “nudie” a child’s real-life photograph or place a child’s face on existing images, the government said.
Criminals are also using this tool to create fake images and threatening victims and force them to further abuse.
This occurs amid warnings from online safety organizations that AI-generated CSAMs are rising at “cold speeds.”
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Last month, the Internet Watch Foundation urged Prime Minister Keir Starmer to fix the “gap loophole” in the online safety law as online data showed CSAM hit a record high in 2024.
Under the new law, it is also illegal to have an AI’s “pedophile manual” that teaches people how to use AI to sexually abuse children, and criminals will be in prison for up to three years . It also targets people who run websites where CSAM content is distributed.
“What we’re seeing is that AI is currently putting online child abuse on steroids,” Interior Secretary Yvette Cooper told the BBC.
She said about half a million children across the UK are victims of some kind of abuse each year.
Cooper continued: “This is an area where technology is not stationary, and our response cannot be stationary to keep children safe.”
The new law will be introduced as part of the Crime and Police Bill, which is expected to be introduced into Congress in the coming weeks.
This version of the story originally appeared in Publictechnology’s sister publication Holyrood
