This episode includes some disturbing descriptions of sexual acts and assault. If you have kids around, you might want to use headphones. And please take care when listening.

Artificial intelligence and “generative AI” tools – think ChatGPT or Stable Diffusion – have become ingrained in our daily lives as a way to make aspects of work and life easier when used for its intended purpose. But many of them are open-source and widely available, giving users free rein to alter publicly available photos of people – including images taken from social media – to depict events that never happened in real life.

These images are called “deepfakes” and increasingly, they’re being altered in sexually explicit ways and posted online without consent. While the photos are fake, the harm inflicted is real. 

Bloomberg’s Olivia Carville and Margi Murphy join this episode to describe the fallout when deepfake creators use AI to alter images and videos. Despite the harm to victims, there is little legal recourse under US law.

Read more: No Laws Protect People From Deepfake Porn. These Victims Fought Back

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