Reports indicate a massive uptick in AI-generated CSAM throughout the internet
AI-generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM) has been flooding the internet, according to a report by The New York Times . Researchers at organizations like the Internet Watch Foundation and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children are warning that this new AI-created CSAM is nearly indistinguishable from the real thing.
Let's go over some numbers. The Internet Watch Foundation, a nonprofit that investigates and collects reports of CSAM , has identified 1,286 AI-generated videos so far this year. This is compared with just two videos identified in the first half of 2024. That's an exponential increase. To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the "Content and social-media partners" setting to do so.
🔎 Developments in artificial intelligence (AI) come with a range of benefits, including supporting learning and innovation. There is, however, growing concern for how AI can also be misused to create and share child sexual abuse material (CSAM), referred to as AI-CSAM.
In… pic.twitter.com/lgfRQNBk8N
— Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) (@IWFhotline) July 8, 2025
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children re-affirms those statistics. It told NYT that it has received 485,000 reports of AI-generated CSAM, including still images and videos, in the first half of 2025. This is compared to 67,000 for all of 2024. That's another massive uptick
'It's a canary in the coal mine,' said Derek Ray-Hill, interim chief executive of the Internet Watch Foundation. 'There is an absolute tsunami we are seeing.'
This technology is constantly improving, so the videos and images have become more realistic. The Internet Watch Foundation found an internet forum in which users were praising how realistic the new videos were. Reporting suggests that this content is distributed through the dark web, making it harder for law enforcement agencies to identify the offenders.
It's worth remembering how AI image generators work. They are trained using real images and videos. The New York Times says that much of this new glut of AI-generated content includes real CSAM that has been repurposed by the algorithm. Some of the material even uses real photos of children scraped from school websites and social media.
The issue dates back to the early days of this technology. In 2023, researchers at the Stanford Internet Observatory found hundreds of examples of CSAM in a data set used in an early version of the image generator Stable Diffusion. Stability AI says it has introduced safeguards to improve safety standards and "is deeply committed to preventing the misuse of our technology, particularly in the creation and dissemination of harmful content, including CSAM."
That did lead other companies to start reporting AI-generated CSAM to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Amazon reported a whopping 380,000 instances of AI-generated CSAM in the first half of this year, all of which it took down. OpenAI reported 75,000 cases . To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the "Content and social-media partners" setting to do so.
NCMEC Applauds the California State Legislature for Passing AB 1831 and looks forward to it being signed into law.
NCMEC supports AB 1831 because it addresses gaps in California's legal remedies for child victims of Generative AI CSAM. We are heartened to see states move… pic.twitter.com/qZt1mgD7Eo
— National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (@NCMEC) September 4, 2024
Courts have been slow to catch up with this tech. The DOJ made its first known arrest last year of a man suspected of possessing and distributing AI-generated CSAM . A UK man recently got 18 months in jail for using AI to generate the foul images, which he sold.
'The Department of Justice views all forms of AI-generated CSAM as a serious and emerging threat,' Matt Galeotti, head of the Justice Department's criminal division, told NYT .
It's worth noting that despite the alarming uptick in occurrences, AI-generated content still represents a mere fraction of all CSAM identified by authorities and watchdog organizations. For instance, the Internet Watch Foundation confirmed 291,273 reports of CSAM in 2024 and, as previously noted, just two instances were AI-generated.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
16 minutes ago
- Yahoo
'New kind of frontier': Shareholder proposals on AI becoming increasingly widespread
When Canada's most valuable companies hosted their annual general meetings this year, there was a new topic for shareholders to vote on among the usual requests to appoint board members and OK their executive compensation. The proposal from Quebec-based investor rights group le mouvement d'éducation et de défense des actionnaires centred on artificial intelligence. It asked 14 companies, including Canada's biggest banks, retailer Dollarama Inc. and telecom giant BCE Inc., to sign a voluntary code of conduct the federal government developed to govern the technology. Experts say the proposal is likely just the start of what they expect to become an annual phenomenon targeting the country's biggest companies — and beyond. "This is a new kind of frontier in Canada for shareholder proposals," said Renée Loiselle, a Montreal-based partner at law firm Norton Rose Fulbright. "Last year, this was not on the ballot. Companies were not getting shareholder proposals related to AI and this year, it absolutely is." Loiselle and other corporate governance watchers attribute the increase in AI-related shareholder proposals to the recent rise of the technology itself. While AI has been around for decades, it's being adopted more because of big advances in the technology's capabilities and a race to innovate that emerged after the birth of OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot in 2022. The increased use has revealed many dangers. Some AI systems have fabricated information and thus, mislead users. Others have sparked concerns about job losses, cyber warfare and even, the end of humanity. The opportunities and risks associated with AI haven't escaped shareholders, said Juana Lee, associate director of corporate engagement at the Shareholder Association for Research and Education (SHARE). "In Canada, I think, in the last year or two, we're seeing more and more shareholders, investors being more interested in the topic of AI," she said. "At least for SHARE ourselves, many of our clients are making it a priority to think through what ethical AI means, but also what that means for investee companies." That thinking manifested itself in a proposal two funds at the B.C. General Employees' Union targeted Thomson Reuters Corp. with. The proposal asked the tech firm to amend its AI framework to square with a set of business and human rights principles the United Nations has. It got 4.87 per cent support. Meanwhile, MÉDAC centred its proposals around Canada's voluntary code of conduct on AI. The code was launched by the federal government in September 2023 and so far, has 46 signatories, including BlackBerry, Cohere, IBM, Mastercard and Telus. Signatories promise to bake risk mitigation measures into AI tools, use adversarial testing to uncover vulnerabilities in such systems and keep track of any harms the technology causes. MÉDAC framed its proposals around the code because there's a lack of domestic legislation for them to otherwise recommend firms heed and big companies have already supported the model, director general Willie Gagnon said. Several companies it sent the proposal to already have AI policies but didn't want to sign the code. "Some of them told us that the code is mainly designed for companies developing AI, but we disagree about that because we saw a bunch of companies that signed the code that are not developing any AI," Gagnon said. Many of the banks told MÉDAC they'll soon sign the code. Only CIBC has so far. Conversations with at least five companies were fruitful enough that MÉDAC withdrew its proposals. In the nine instances where the vote went forward, the proposal didn't succeed. It garnered as much as 17.4 per cent support at TD Bank but as little as 3.68 per cent at engineering firm AtkinsRéalis Group Inc. Loiselle said you can't measure the success of a proposal based on whether it passes or not. "The goal of these shareholder proposals is more for engagement," she said. Sometimes, even just by filing a proposal, companies reveal more about their AI use or understand it's an important topic for shareholders and then, discuss it more with them. While proposals don't always succeed, Lee has seen shareholder engagement drive real change. SHARE recently had discussions with a large Canadian software company. AI was central to its business but didn't crop up in its proxy statement — a document companies file governing their annual general meetings. The firm also had no board oversight of the technology. SHARE was able to get the company, which Lee would not name, to amend its board charter to include oversight of AI and commit to more disclosure around its use of the technology in its annual sustainability report. "This is a really positive development and it's leading to improvement related to further transparency," she said. If the U.S. is anything to judge by, Lee and Loiselle agree Canadian shareholders will keep pushing companies to adhere to higher AI standards. South of the border, AI-related proposals first cropped up around two years ago. They've targeted Apple, The Walt Disney Co. and even Netflix, where a vote on disclosing AI use and adhering to ethical guidelines amassed 43.3 per cent support. The frequency and spectrum of AI-related requests shareholders have has only grown since and is likely to be mirrored in Canada, Loiselle said. "The landscape for shareholder proposals is changing and I think that change is here to stay," she said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 21, 2025. Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press Sign in to access your portfolio
Bloomberg
an hour ago
- Bloomberg
Siemens CEO Says Germany Has Big Industrial Data Set for AI Push
Siemens AG Chief Executive Officer Roland Busch said Germany must leverage the loads of data across its industrial companies to take advantage of artificial intelligence. 'We are sitting on a massive amount of data,' Busch said Monday during a Bloomberg TV interview. 'This is one of the most industrialized economies in the world, and again, small and medium sized enterprises, large ones, they're creating data from their buildings, their manufacturing sites, their engineering.'
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Jeeva.ai Launches Jeeva 2.0, Empowering GTM Teams with Agentic AI for 10x Sales Productivity
SAN FRANCISCO, July 21, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- a cutting-edge AI-driven sales automation platform, today announced the launch of Jeeva 2.0, marking a major milestone as it opens its powerful autonomous sales assistant capabilities to every member of the go-to-market (GTM) team. This Product-Led Growth (PLG) launch on Product Hunt aims to revolutionize how sales professionals operate by delivering AI-powered tools designed to amplify productivity, precision, and personalization. Dubbed the "Cursor/Codex for sales reps," Jeeva 2.0 blends advanced AI with deep sales expertise to automate repetitive and time-consuming tasks, giving reps more time to focus on high-impact conversations and closing deals. Key new features include: Auto Email Drafting & Inbox Labeling: Personalization at ScaleJeeva 2.0 streamlines email outreach by auto-drafting personalized messages based on past interactions and customer data, saving reps hours weekly while preserving their authentic voice. Its inbox labeling feature organizes incoming emails automatically, helping reps prioritize and respond efficiently. Automated Meeting Notes: Stay PresentAutomatic note-taking captures key points in real time, letting reps focus fully on conversations without missing important details. AI-Powered Calendar: Simplify SchedulingThe AI calendar helps coordinate meetings, optimize schedules, and prevent conflicts—making time management effortless. Meeting Preparation Assistance: Arrive ReadyBefore meetings, Jeeva 2.0 surfaces relevant insights about prospects and past interactions so reps can engage confidently. "Jeeva 2.0 is designed to empower every GTM team member, not just sales leaders, to become 10x more productive and effective," said Gaurav Bhattacharya, CEO of "By automating the grunt work and enabling truly personalized outreach and research at scale, we help teams unlock pipeline growth and revenue acceleration like never before." The launch on Product Hunt on July 21 will feature live demos, user stories, and a showcase of Jeeva's new autonomous AI assistants. invites GTM professionals worldwide to experience the future of sales automation and join the growing community transforming sales with AI. About Jeeva Jeeva is an agentic AI sales platform that automates prospect discovery, data enrichment, personalized outreach, and post-call follow-up in a single workflow. Drawing on live intent signals and self-directed processes, it surfaces high-fit leads, fills data gaps with accurate firmographic and contact information, drafts context-aware emails, and captures meeting notes—allowing sales teams to concentrate on relationships and revenue. Companies from seed-stage startups to large enterprises rely on Jeeva to expand pipeline and shorten sales cycles without adding headcount. Founded by serial entrepreneur Gaurav Bhattacharya, Jeeva operates globally. View source version on Contacts Address: 2708 Wilshire Blvd, #321, Santa Monica, CA 90403Gaurav Bhattacharya, CEO, Email - g@ Phone - 4246457525 Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
