The Australian Federal Police (AFP) has issued a warning to parents about the dangers and harms of artificial intelligence (AI) following an increase in AI-generated child abuse material.
The Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) said there has been a rise of AI-generated child abuse material in the last year, including a rise in students creating material such as deepfakes for a variety of reasons, including to harass or embarrass classmates.
AFP Commander Helen Schneider said urged parents to have open conversations with young people who might not be aware that using AI to create material featuring their classmates could constitute a criminal offence.
“Children and young people are curious by nature, however, anything that depicts the abuse of someone under the age of 18 – whether that’s videos, images, drawings or stories – is child abuse material, irrespective of whether it is ‘real’ or not,” she said.
“The AFP encourages all parents and guardians to have open and honest conversations with their child on this topic, particularly as AI technology continues to become increasingly accessible and integrated into platforms and products.
“These conversations can include how they interact with technology, what to do if they are exposed to child abuse material, bolstering privacy settings on online accounts, and declining unknown friend or follower requests.”
In the 2023/2024 financial year, ThinkUKnow, an AFP-led education program delivered presentations about child abuse exploitation to over 200,000 students across Australia in a commitment to stop the abuse.
It comes as research by the ACCCE in 2020 revealed only about half of parents talked to their children about online safety.
If you or someone you know is impacted by child sexual abuse and online child sexual exploitation, support services are available.