Menihek High School in Labrador City is co-operating with a police investigation into students alleged to have used generative artificial intelligence to create and share intimate images, CBC News has confirmed with the Department of Education.
“All allegations of physical, mental or cyber violence are taken seriously and investigated. The department is aware of allegations of students using generative AI to create and share intimate images,” a statement from the department reads.
“Appropriate action will be taken pending the outcome of the investigation.”
Generative AI can be used for many things, from editing a piece of writing or creating audio clips, to altering or creating fake images.
The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary wouldn’t confirm the investigation with the school, but did confirm it has received reports, and expects to see an increase in reports about sexually altered photos across its jurisdictions.
Investigations involving young people aged 12 to 17 are guided by the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
“Where youth are involved, charges could include; making, possessing, accessing, and distributing child sexual abuse and exploitation material,” the RNC statement reads.
Similar reports involving students on the Avalon
But, the investigation at Menihek High isn’t isolated to Labrador West. In an email to CBC News, the RCMP said the Integrated Internet Child Exploitation Unit has encountered AI generated images and videos in its investigations.
The Department of Education also told CBC News it’s “aware of reports of such activities” involving school-aged individuals in Labrador and the Avalon Peninsula region of Newfoundland.
“While such incidents may involve school-aged youth, it does not mean the activity occurred at or during school warranting school investigation or school-based discipline,” a department statement reads.
“As these matters may still be considered under police investigation, we will not be providing any further information.”
The RCMP couldn’t provide the data or comment on files specifically.
Generative AI
While it’s common to see generative AI on social media, not everyone understands how it works, said Jonathan Anderson, a professor of computer engineering at Memorial University.
“Unfortunately, people are also using these in other ways to generate images of, for example, child abuse,” he said.
Anderson said companies could put parameters in place to make it harder for people to create that type of content, but there isn’t a way to make it entirely impossible.
“Certainly these companies should be putting efforts in place to say, well, ‘if there is an image that’s generated that looks like a child and it looks like nudity, then, well, we’re probably not going to just generate that for you.’ But there’s no way to perfectly stop, perfectly prevent these kinds of usage,” he said.
Anderson said the other question to consider is whether or not the people developing the software care if it’s being used to create explicit images, and that problems involving people and technology cannot be solved with technology alone.
Most phones have software that can blur explicit images, or make a popup appear that asks the user if they’re sure they want to look at this image.
The RNC said parents and caregivers should talk to the children in their lives about responsible technology use, consent and the consequences of online behavior.
‘Isn’t going away’
Child psychologist Janine Hubbard recommends parents take the time to learn about the software, to use it and figure out what it can do. But they also need to provide their children with media literacy and teach them to be critical consumers of information, she said.
“AI is challenging that more than ever. Is that really, you know, is that a real image? Is that information that it’s telling you accurate? How do you know if it’s accurate or not?” Hubbard said.
“These are developing skills that are going to be essential, because this isn’t going away. So it’s a combination of how do you consume it safely and with a whole lot of questioning, but then also just because you can do some things for fun with it, what is appropriate and what isn’t appropriate?”
Hubbard’s advice for parents of children who may have their images altered is to speak with them about the social piece of the puzzle and what the image actually represents — a mild joke or something that crosses into illegal activity.
If an image is altered in an illegal way, Hubbard said, it may be difficult to screenshot the incident and report it to your child’s school and law enforcement. She said youth who are impacted by the activity may feel confused and violated, and that it’s important for parents to help their children navigate those feelings.
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