Nude images of teens are being created with AI apps, alarming parents
- Comments
Students are now using AI apps to create fraudulent nude images of classmates
SmartSocial founder Josh Ochs and Don Austin, the superintendent of the Palo Alto Unified School District, spoke with Fox News Digital about this emerging trend.
Join Fox News for access to this content Plus special access to select articles and other premium content with your account - free of charge. By entering your email and pushing continue, you are agreeing to Fox News' Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, which includes our Notice of Financial Incentive. Please enter a valid email address. By entering your email and pushing continue, you are agreeing to Fox News' Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, which includes our Notice of Financial Incentive.A troubling trend has emerged in schools across the United States, with young students falling victim to the increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI)-powered "nudify" apps that have the power to create fake pornography of classmates.
"Nudify" is an umbrella term referring to a plethora of widely available apps and websites that allow users to alter photos of full-dressed individuals and virtually undress them. Some apps can create nude images with just a headshot of the victim.
Don Austin, the superintendent of the Palo Alto Unified School District, told Fox News Digital that this type of online harassment can be more relentless compared to traditional in-person bullying.
"It used to be that a bully had to come over and push you. Palo Alto is not a community where people are going to come push anybody into a locker. That doesn't happen. But it's not immune from online bullying," Austin said.
‘SOUND OF FREEDOM’ PRODUCER SAYS AI TOOLS HELPED NAB CHILD TRAFFICKER THAT ELUDED FBI FOR 10 YEARS

Education experts are warning parents that teens are now using AI apps and websites to create nude images of their peers. (Catherine McQueen/Moor Studio/Getty)
"The differences, I think, are worse. Now your bully can be completely anonymous. You don't even know where it's coming from," he continued.
Austin noted that conversations with mental health professionals have unearthed another troubling trend wherein kids who have become the victim of online bullying can become "addicted" to searching for negative content about themselves.
"They're looking, monitoring the exact place where the harm is coming from," he said.
Growing up in the 1980s, Austin recalled how a student could do something stupid on a weekend and peers would whisper and talk about that individual on a Monday.
Flash-forward to the early days of the internet when Austin was starting his professional career: at this point, students could post pictures and comments about classmates and display that to the entire school.
PROTECTING YOUR DAUGHTER FROM DEEPFAKES AND ONLINE ABUSE

AI-generated images, known as "deepfakes," often involve editing videos or photos of people to make them look like someone else or use their voice to make statements they never uttered in reality. (Elyse Samuels/The Washington Post/Lane Turner/The Boston Globe/STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
"We're at a place now where you can be doing nothing and stories and pictures about you are posted online. They're fabricated. They're completely made up through AI and it can have your voice or face. That's a whole other world," he told Fox News Digital.
Last August, the office of the San Francisco City Attorney filed a lawsuit accusing 16 "nudify websites" of violating nonconsensual intimate images and child abuse material laws. In the first half of 2023, the websites in question were visited over 200 million times.
The parent companies of the apps that create these hyper-realistic "deepfake pornography" images have largely remained unscathed by state legislation. However, at least one state, Minnesota, is considering a bill that would hold them accountable for certain image generations.
TEEN DEEPFAKE PORNOGRAPHY VICTIM WARNS FUTURE GENERATION IS 'AT RISK' IF AI CRIME BILL FAILS

Texas teen Elliston Berry speaks on the Take It Down Act, which requires social media companies to restrict deepfake porn on their platforms. (Fox News/Screengrab)
Though technology will likely always outpace policy, Austin stressed the importance of ongoing collaboration and communication between educators, parents, and students to redefine acceptable behaviors and provide support for those affected by AI and social media.
Nearly a decade ago, Austin fostered a working relationship with SmartSocial founder Josh Ochs, whose organization hosts weekly live events that teach parents how to keep their kids safe online.
Ochs told Fox News Digital that in a growing number of cases, these apps are subjecting school-aged teens to humiliation, harassment and online sexual exploitation. The creation of these images can also lead to legal ramifications.
"Kids these days will upload maybe a headshot of another kid at school and the app will recreate the body of the person as though they're nude. This causes extreme harm to that kid that might be in the photo, and especially their friends as well and a whole family," he told Fox News Digital.
AI ‘DEEPFAKES’ OF INNOCENT IMAGES FUEL SPIKE IN SEXTORTION SCAMS, FBI WARNS

A woman in Washington, D.C., views a manipulated video on January 24, 2019, that changes what is said by President Donald Trump and former president Barack Obama, illustrating how deepfake technology has evolved. (Rob Lever /AFP via Getty Images)
Ochs emphasized the importance of parents having open and frequent dialogues with their children about online safety and the dangers of these apps, while also taking an interest in their personal lives.
Though some parents push to give their kids greater autonomy and privacy, Ochs said parents should have access to their children's devices and social media accounts (via the passcode), just as they would have a spare set of keys to a car.
"Before you give your kids a phone or social media, it's time to have that discussion early and often. Hey, this is a loaner for you, and I can take it back at any time because you could really hurt our family," he said.
The U.S. Senate in February unanimously approved a bill by Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., that would make it a federal crime to publish, or threaten to publish, nonconsensual intimate imagery, including "digital forgeries," also known as deepfakes, crafted by AI.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
- ·男人用什么泡水喝可以提高性功能,男人用什么泡水喝对身体好
- ·十分钟快手菜 萝卜剁椒蒸三文鱼
- ·海尔电热水器报价 电热水器使用的注意事项
- ·你凌晨偷偷发的朋友圈,我截图了
- ·Cherish what we are enjoying
- ·令人落泪的伤感个性签名 你没有坚持陪我走到底纵然我那么努力
- ·中国斯诺克创历史!丁俊晖领衔,00后PK奥沙利文,赵心童迎德比战
- ·车间普通员工年终工作总结通用
- ·Former top Defense Department aide warns of 'meltdown' under Hegseth's leadership
- ·中芬绿色建筑技术交流会在京举行,共筑行业可持续未来
- ·加气站上半年工作总结报告
- ·中芬绿色建筑技术交流会在京举行,共筑行业可持续未来
- ·抛弃ZZZQ?网友称赞《光与影:33号远征队》有漂亮女角色、甚至能看到女性内衣
- ·后百亿时代安踏儿童"科技创新"再亮剑 发布空调T新品重新定义儿童夏日运动装备
- ·成功不止于赛场(70年,共同走过·对话两代体育人)
- ·[新浪彩票]足彩第25056期任九:朗斯值得信任
- ·鳕鱼杂粮粥 和胃补脾润养肺燥
- ·Drag stars denounce UK Supreme Court ruling on legal definition of woman
- ·教师教学个人年度工作总结优秀模板
- ·Catholic Church sees spike in converts as young people seek 'moral order'
- ·伊朗港口爆炸事件已致406人受伤
- ·安徽:村规民约“上墙进户” 文明风尚“入眼入心”
- ·北京中联金马成中国马术协会马术专业人才培养推广运营单位
- ·乐高®趣玩空间落地上海儿童医学中心张江院区,以玩乐为病患儿童带来积极力量
- ·俄罗斯总参谋长:库尔斯克地区全面控制行动已完成
- ·找工作好难好迷茫的文案 找工作很难的感慨句子