UK man gets 18 years in prison for using AI to generate CSAM

A 27-year-old UK man, Hugh Nelson, has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for creating child sexual abuse material using AI. Nelson used AI modeling software called Daz 3D to manipulate photographs of real children into CSAM. He was convicted of 16 child sexual abuse offenses after a lengthy police investigation, marking the first prosecution of its kind in the UK. Nelson sold the images online and was commissioned to create specific items of CSAM, earning around $6,500. He was caught when trying to sell images to an undercover cop in a chatroom, where he described the disturbing content of his creations. The judge described the images as "harrowing and sickening" and expressed concern that it was impossible to know if children had been abused as a result of the images. Police searches of Nelson's devices found text messages encouraging people to sexually abuse children under 13, with suspects and potential victims located worldwide. This case is part of a growing trend of using AI to generate CSAM, with similar cases reported in the US. A Wisconsin man faces 70 years in prison for allegedly creating over 13,000 AI-generated images depicting CSAM, and the world's leading AI companies have pledged to help stop this type of software from being used to generate CSAM. The use of AI to create CSAM has raised concerns about the need for stricter regulations and law enforcement efforts to combat this disturbing trend.