AI vs. AI: Battling Sextortion Scams to Save Lives
Sextortion scams have seen a sharp increase in recent years, with reported cases rising by a staggering 322% between February 2022 and February 2023, according to the FBI. This distressing trend has only continued to worsen since April. Innocent pictures taken at the beach or in the gym can now be manipulated by artificial intelligence (AI) to create sexually explicit deepfakes. These malicious individuals prey on vulnerable teenagers and preteens, causing immense panic and embarrassment.
Tragically, these sextortion cases have resulted in a significant number of suicides among the victims. However, a glimmer of hope emerges in the form of AI-powered technology designed to detect and block explicit content from ever reaching the intended recipients. Canopy, led by Yaron Litwin, has developed an AI platform that can recognize images and videos instantaneously, filtering out any explicit material and alerting parents.
Our technology is an AI platform that has been developed over 14 years … and can recognize images with video and an image in split seconds, explains Litwin. The platform itself will also filter out in real time any explicit image as you’re browsing through a website or an app and really prevent a lot of pornography from appearing online.
This technology acts as an additional layer of protection, ensuring that naive children and teenagers don’t share innocent pictures or videos that could be weaponized against them by criminals. It’s an example of using AI for good, safeguarding vulnerable individuals.
Canopy is also collaborating with the FBI to further filter sexually abusive material, providing investigators with tools to protect their mental health from the distressing and disturbing images/videos they encounter during their work. AI can swiftly identify improper content, saving precious time and sparing investigators from manually sifting through countless distressing materials.
However, this ongoing battle between AI developers and criminals is far from over. As technology continues to advance, developers such as Litwin are working to differentiate between genuine images and AI-generated fakes. This constant cat-and-mouse game underscores the need for continuous innovation and adaptation to combat the ever-evolving landscape of sextortion.
The FBI defines sextortion as the coercion of victims into providing sexually explicit photos or videos, followed by threats to make them public or share them with the victim’s loved ones. Malicious actors leverage content manipulation technologies to create lifelike sexual images using photos and videos sourced from social media accounts or the internet.
Disturbingly, many victims, including minors, remain blissfully unaware that their images have been copied, manipulated, and circulated until someone brings it to their attention. Alarming statistics reveal that at least a dozen sextortion-related suicides have been reported nationwide this year alone. Although both genders can become targets, the majority of victims are males between the ages of 10 and 17.
The COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated the problem, resulting in a staggering 463% increase in reported sextortion cases from 2021 to 2022, according to the FBI’s records. However, it is essential to note that these reported numbers likely only scratch the surface, as many victims feel shame and do not file reports.
Michelle DeLaune, president and CEO of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), expressed concern for young victims, emphasizing that they should know they are not alone. In the past year, NCMEC has received over 10,000 sextortion-related reports, prompting them to provide free resources to help victims navigate this overwhelming and terrifying ordeal. Additionally, NCMEC offers a free service called Take It Down, assisting victims in removing or preventing the online sharing of sexually explicit materials.
The battle against sextortion scams is far from over, but with the aid of AI and dedicated organizations like Canopy and NCMEC, there is hope. As technology continues to evolve, so will the methods employed by criminals. However, by harnessing the power of AI and collaborating with law enforcement agencies, we can protect vulnerable individuals and bring an end to this harrowing crisis.
If you or someone you know is experiencing thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
