The United Kingdom is set to become the first country to introduce laws against artificial intelligence tools used to generate sexualised images of children, in an attempt to curb a phenomenon that Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said was increasing.
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The government announced at the weekend that it would make it illegal to possess, create or distribute AI tools that generate abusive images, making it a crime punishable by up to five years in prison.

AI tools are being used to generate child sexual abuse images by “nudeifying” real-life images of children or by “stitching the faces of other children onto existing images”, government said.

It will also be a crime punishable by up to three years in prison to possess AI “paedophile manuals” that teach people how to use AI to sexually abuse children.

The new laws will also criminalise “predators who run websites designed for other paedophiles to share vile child sexual abuse content or advice on how to groom children”, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, said Cooper.