Seven in every 100 adults surveyed in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States say someone has used AI to make or spread sexual images of them without their consent. The survey of over 7,200 people, led by Nicola Henry of RMIT University in Australia and published in the International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction, counted three kinds of abuse since age 18. These were having a nude or sexual image of oneself created or altered with AI tools, having such an image shared, and being threatened with its release. Men reported it at over twice the rate of women, 10.2% against 3.8%, and rates were also higher among people under 35, people from racial and ethnic minorities and people with disabilities.

Women reported more fear for their safety and more damage to their mental and physical health. Almost 87% of all victims described at least one harm to their health, relationships, work or finances. Henry warned that the real number may be higher, because some people never find out that a fake image of them exists. The research was funded by Google, and a Google researcher, Rebecca Umbach, co-wrote it. Henry points to Australia’s proposed digital duty of care, which would require online services to prevent foreseeable harm instead of reacting after it happens. She also asks for better education, accessible support for victims and for technology companies to build safeguards into AI image tools from the start.