Crooks blackmailing influencers using AI-made deep nudes

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

As per data gathered by ET, keywords like 'Remove Dress AI' and 'Deep fake AI tools' have seen a huge surge in Searches with related queries being those of websites like Undress AI, Magic Eraser AI, Soulgen AI. In the last week alone, 'Soulgen AI' has seen a 1,000% rise in searches while the keyword 'Soulgen' has seen a 1450% increase.

Soulgen describes itself as a world where creativity knows no bounds. It describes itself as an AI-powered picture app «that brings your wildest imaginations to life.» These as well as several other apps that could seem like harmless AI-image generators allow users to upload a photo of their choice and receive a nude version of that for free and in some cases at a cost.

Google Trends has classified all these sites as 'breakout' searches which means that they have seen a 'tremendous increase, probably because these queries are new and had few (if any) prior searches.' While this technology isn't new, the sheer scale at which it is available now and the ease of access has experts worried. Some websites even allow users to input their specifications of preferred height, skin tone, body type and so on and can upload the photo of their choice and have a deep nude created of the person in the uploaded picture.

Privacy experts said that what was once primarily restricted to celebrities' and those who were in the public eye will now see increased use to target regular citizens in order to blackmail, bully, shame or tarnish reputation. They caution people to be extremely careful, especially about putting pictures of children.

Public policy expert Kanishk Gaur said that the line between public and private life is increasingly getting blurred. He specifically warned against 'sharenting,' which is