In a statement released on Wednesday, UNICEF said it was alarmed by reports of increasing numbers of AI-manipulated images involving children, and urged governments to act quickly to close legal gaps that allow offenders to exploit AI tools.
UNICEF Calls for “Safety-by-Design” AI
The agency also urged AI developers to adopt safety-by-design approaches and stronger guardrails to prevent the misuse of their models. UNICEF stressed that digital companies should enhance content moderation systems and invest in advanced detection technologies to stop the spread of abusive images.
“The harm from deepfake abuse is real and urgent. Children cannot wait for the law to catch up,” UNICEF said.
Deepfakes refer to AI-generated images, videos, or audio that convincingly mimic real people, often used to spread misinformation or manipulate victims.
Over 1.2 Million Children Affected
UNICEF also raised concerns about the “nudification” of children, a process where AI tools strip or alter clothing in photos to produce fabricated nude or sexualized images. The agency revealed that at least 1.2 million children across 11 countries reported having their images manipulated into sexually explicit deepfakes in the past year.
Britain Moves to Criminalize AI Child Abuse Images
The issue has gained international attention, with Britain announcing on Saturday its intention to make it illegal to use AI tools to create child sexual abuse images, potentially becoming the first country to enact such a law.
AI Chatbots Under Scrutiny
Concerns have intensified over AI chatbots, particularly xAI’s Grok, owned by Elon Musk, after reports of the chatbot producing sexualized images of women and minors. A Reuters investigation found that the chatbot continued to generate such images even when users explicitly warned that the subjects had not consented.
UN Launches Global AI Panel
In a related development, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced on Wednesday that he has proposed 40 experts to serve on the Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence. The panel aims to ensure AI is developed and used responsibly, emphasizing public safety and human rights.
Guterres said the panel, which includes experts from 37 countries, covers areas such as machine learning, data governance, cybersecurity, public health, and childhood development.
xAI Responds with Restrictions
In response to concerns, xAI said on January 14 that it had restricted image editing for Grok users and blocked access in jurisdictions where generating images of people in revealing clothing is illegal. The company did not disclose the countries affected, and previously limited Grok’s image features to paying subscribers.