Future of Sex
tagline
  • Remote Sex
  • Virtual Sex & Entertainment
  • Robots
  • Human Augmentation
  • Sex Tech
  • Dating & Relationships
  • Bizarre Bazaar 18+
  • Future of Sex Community
  • Remote Sex
  • Virtual Sex & Entertainment
  • Robots
  • Human Augmentation
  • Sex Tech
  • Dating & Relationships
  • Bizarre Bazaar 18+
  • Future of Sex Community
  • Where the Boys Aren’t: Sextech, Star Power, and the Sound of Male Silence

  • The Real Deal: Deepfake Sex Sites Going, Going—Gone?

  • More To Love: North American, European, And Australian Polyamory Support Groups

  • A Day to Come: Imaging What Your Sexlife Might Be Like in the Not-To-Distant Future

  • Arms Enough for Love: The Erotic Possibilities Extra Limbs, More Thumbs May Hand Us

  • Hot Times Ahead: Tomorrow’s Male Contraceptives May Be More About Temperature, Less About Drugs

  • This Bot’s in Love With You—Sincerely or Merely a Revenue Strategy?

  • 10 Best Masturbation Sites on the Web

Future of Sex is supported by our readers. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Home > Sex Tech > Reality Under Siege: Challenges in Detecting and Combating Deepfakes

VR PornSex TechVirtual Sex & Entertainment
Home›Immersive Entertainment›VR Porn›Reality Under Siege: Challenges in Detecting and Combating Deepfakes

Reality Under Siege: Challenges in Detecting and Combating Deepfakes

By A.R. Marsh, Ed.D.
April 18, 2024
1546
0

Navigating the ethics of AI-generated erotic content

Deepfake technology and nudification services are capable of creating sexualized, nonconsensual images of real people, whether celebrities or unknowns–and a shocking number of these are of women and others presumed female, including minors. 

Celebrity deepfake images, such as those of singer Taylor Swift that flooded the internet in January, have  drawn the most media attention—and views—yet hundreds of thousand, or perhaps millions, of people worldwide have had their careers, personal reputations and brands, social lives, and sense of privacy and security violated.

Sexually explicit, nonconsensual, deepfake images have also become a staple of revenge porn, according to an article published in the University of Cincinnati Law Review.

An Australian ABC News piece , noted most of these sorts of images are created by diffusion models, “a type of generative artificial intelligence model that can produce new and photorealistic images from written prompts.”

Revealing the extent of Non-Consensual Intimate Imagery (NCII)

Though hardly household names, organizations such as Graphika have investigated the deepfake problem and issued reports, such as their early 2023 “Deepfake it Till You Make It.” 

However, their more recent report, reveals the truly massive extent of the undressing images problem:

“A group of 34 synthetic NCII providers identified by Graphika received over 24 million unique visitors to their websites in September, according to data provided by web traffic analysis firm Similarweb. Additionally, the volume of referral link spam for these services has increased by more than 2,000% on platforms including Reddit and X since the beginning of 2023, and a set of 52 Telegram groups used to access NCII services contain at least 1 million users as of September this year.”

Graphika concluded “the primary driver of this growth is the increasing capability and accessibility of open-source artificial intelligence (AI) image diffusion models. These models allow a larger number of providers to easily and cheaply create photorealistic NCII at scale. Without such providers, their customers would need to host, maintain, and run their own custom image diffusion models–a time-consuming and sometimes expensive process.”

Defending reality

According to its FAQ, Reality Defender, founded in 2018, is a “deepfake detection platform for enterprises, governments, and platforms to detect AI-generated content and manipulations across audio, video, image, and text files.” Unfortunately it is only accessible to large organizations, businesses, and governments. 

Though Reality Defender’s detection services are not available to the average consumer, it’s helpful to look through the website’s blog posts. For starters, I recommend “A Brief History of Deepfakes”, paying special attention to this quote:

“No history of deepfakes can be complete without acknowledging contributions made by the average internet user. The open-source deepfake creation tools have been tested and refined by legions of hobbyists, who have utilized these tools for purposes of benign entertainment (memes, swapping out actors’ faces in classic movies) and more sinister, appalling goals, like the creation of deepfake pornography.” 

“It was the participation and driving interest of everyday users, beginning in 2017, that has brought the technology to where it is now. This continued democratization of such powerful tools demonstrates the dire need for adequate countermeasures to detect and isolate deepfakes before they can be used for malicious purposes.”

So while average internet users have the ability to contribute to the development of deepfakes, other average internet users have no way to protect themselves from them.

Calls for regulation, social responsibility, and technical safeguards

In the US, politicians appear to be finally paying attention. In September 2023, Representatives Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY) and Congressman Glenn Ivey (D-MD) introduced the DEEPFAKES Accountability Act of 2023.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) have drafted legislation last October called “Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe Act, or NO FAKES.” 

The law would enable victims to sue deepfake creators plus platforms that distribute the material, though difficulties in forensic identification of the offending software plus Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act might make such cases difficult to impossible.

And in January 2024, US Representative Joe Morelle (NY) and Rep. Tom Kean (R-NJ) announced HR 3106, the Preventing Deepfakes of Intimate Images Act, a bill banning the sharing of deepfake pornography. 

But regulations can be frustratingly ineffective. Scientific American points out that ideas such as digital watermarks and other technological safeguards can still be hacked by “sophisticated users.” The same article also points out the limitations of corporate social responsibility and self-regulation. 

Our images, ourselves

Consent counts, but violations of digital consent seem to have run amok, making even the most enthusiastic sex tech proponent think twice about the implications and ethics, say, of AI-generated chatbot images and the creation of AR/VR sexual avatars. 

As Graphika’s “A Revealing Picture” points out, “the increasing prominence and accessibility of these services [AI diffusion models] will very likely lead to further instances of online harm, such as the creation and dissemination of non-consensual nude images, targeted harassment campaigns, sextortion, and the generation of child sexual abuse material.”

So while it might be tempting to create a sexy chatbot or avatar that resembles your favorite celebrity, influencer, or the hottie next door, consent still counts, even in the digital realms. 

So unless you have that express, personal consent from the object of your desire—don’t, just don’t. There are plenty of sexy, imaginary friends you can access through the wonders of technology and even plenty of erotic images you can make, without using images of the unsuspecting and nonconsenting.

Images: Depositphotos

TagssextechartificialintelligenceAIdeepfakes

A.R. Marsh, Ed.D.

A.R. Marsh, Ed.D. is a clinical sexologist, an AASECT-certified sexuality counselor, a certified hypnotist and hypnosis instructor.

Ze is the author of Sexological Hypnosis: Overview, History, & Techniques (2022), Entrancing: Hypnotizing Your Way to More Pleasure, Romance, and Sex (2023), and How To Make Love To A Chatbot—The Thinking Human’s Guide to AI Erotic Roleplay (2023).

As the founder of the Intimate Hypnosis Training Center, Marsh conducts professional training in hypnosis for sexual concerns.

Ze has appeared on national television in the US, Japan, Australia, and England, and on many podcasts.

Marsh has also published four books in the Guild of Ornamental Hermits queer, contemporary fantasy series.
Previous Article

Rise of the Soft Machines: New Tech ...

Next Article

A Not-So-Happy Ending? Researchers Say AI May ...

Related articles More from author

  • Dating & RelationshipsSex Tech

    Between Connection and Commodification: The Complex Truths of Webcam Intimacy

    March 17, 2025
    By A.R. Marsh, Ed.D.
  • Dating & RelationshipsSex Tech

    AI in the Bedroom: The Pros and Pitfalls of Digital Sexual Health Advisors

    August 17, 2024
    By A.R. Marsh, Ed.D.
  • Remote SexSex Tech

    The Possible Health Benefits of Vibrators

    February 5, 2024
    By Sponsored Post
  • Sex TechVirtual Sex & EntertainmentImmersive Entertainment

    Dream a Little Dream: How Brain-Reading Tech Will Unlock Our Innermost Desires

    October 7, 2024
    By M. Christian
  • Sex Tech

    Telling Secrets: Erotic Chatbots Raise Serious Privacy Concerns

    February 19, 2024
    By M. Christian
  • Sex Tech

    Comes When You Call: DoorDash Now Delivers Sextech Delights

    February 24, 2025
    By M. Christian

  • Sex Tech

    Protective Threads: Can ‘Smart’ Clothing Really Keep Women Safe from Abuse?

  • Motorbunny
    Remote SexSex Tech

    Motorbunny, the Popular App-Controlled Sex Machine, Earns Multiple Award Nominations

  • Light yellow background with a trail of small round white pills moving up the center of the image. There's a light-skin human hand reaching into frame from the top-left corner grabbing one of the pills.
    Augmentation

    New Non-Hormonal Male Birth Control Pill to Begin Human Trials in Late 2022

Virtual Lust is a 3D interactive sex game.
3DXChat
Discover the best virtual sex parties and 3D sex worlds.
  • TOP REVIEWS

  • Project QT is the most popular RPG sex game at hentai sex game portal Nutaku.

    The Best RPG Sex Games [UPDATED]

  • Multiplayer Online Sex Games

    Review of the Best Massively Multiplayer Online Sex Games

    0
  • Harmony ai sex doll from RealDoll

    State of the Sexbot Market: The World’s Best Sex Robot and AI Sex Doll Companies ...

  • Realistic Sex Games

    Review of the Best Sex Games and Most Realistic Sex Simulators [UPDATED]

    0
  • Screenshot of a sexbot from adult entertainment game

    The Best Adult Games on Steam [UPDATED]

Fantasy sex game Dream Sex World lets you explore your wildest desires.
Multiplayer sex world Red Light Center continues to impress with its massive userbase and incredible sex graphics.
A blonde and light-skinned love doll face sppears next to the text Go now realdollxthe future is real.

Like Us on Facebook

Newsletter Subscription

Sign up for our monthly newsletter sharing the very best of the future of sex from our publication and others across the web.

DreamSexWorld offers a stunning XXX 3D world filled with incredibly interactive erotic experiences.

Like Us On Facebook

Facebook Pagelike Widget

RLC_ad_v2

Tweets by @FutureofSex
Future of Sex Report

Follow us

  • Home
  • About
  • ADVERTISE
  • Contribute
  • Story Ideas
  • Sitemap
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
© 2011 - 2022 Future Exploration Network
This website or its third-party tools use cookies to improve user experience and track affiliate sales. To learn more about why we need to use cookies, please refer to the Privacy Policy.

By clicking the agree button or continuing to browse through the website, you agree to the use of cookies. Accept Privacy Policy
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
SAVE & ACCEPT