Tech Giants Combat Child Sexual Abuse Using AI Security by Design Principles

In recent years, major technology companies like Microsoft, Meta, Google, and OpenAI have been placing a growing emphasis on developing generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools. These companies have made a commitment to combating child sexual abuse images (CSAM) that result from the use of AI technology. To ensure that AI is used responsibly, they are implementing security measures by design.

In 2023, more than 104 million files suspected of containing CSAM were reported in the United States. These AI-generated images pose significant risks for child safety. Organizations like Thorn and All Tech is Human are working with tech giants like Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft and others to protect minors from AI misuse.

To prevent the easy creation of abusive content using AI, these technology companies have adopted security by design principles. Cybercriminals can utilize generative AI to create harmful content that can exploit children. Therefore, measures are being put in place to proactively address child safety risks in AI models.

Companies have committed to training their AI models to avoid reproducing abusive content. They are implementing techniques such as watermarking AI-generated images to indicate that they are generated by AI. Additionally, they are working on evaluating and training AI models for child safety before releasing them to the public.

Google has taken steps to stop the spread of CSAM material by using a combination of hash matching technology and AI classifiers. The company also reviews content manually and works with organizations like the US National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to report incidents. By investing in research, deploying detection measures and actively monitoring their platforms, technology companies are taking steps to safeguard children online. The focus is on ensuring that AI is used responsibly and does not contribute to the exploitation or harm of minors.