Sometimes, it feels like all we can talk about is AI â from Claude, to Gemini, to Copilot â and with good reason, itâs advancing everyday with no indication of slowing down. Weâre living in an age where people are forming para-social relationships with ChatGPT and a simple google search can no longer exist without an unwarranted (and, quite frankly, unwanted) âAI overviewâ.
Along with this technological revolution comes the inevitable exploitation of artificial intelligence to create fake media. When you hear the term âdeepfakesâ you might think of images of fake content plaguing your social media or AI generated videos of political figures saying a controversial statement. But these constitute only a very small proportion of what actually makes up deepfake media today. In fact, according to Laura Bates in her book, âThe New Age of Sexismâ, â96 percent of deepfakes are non-consensual pornography, of which 99 percent feature women.â
So it seems we have a larger problem on our hands: not only are we in a new technological age, we have entered into a new era of misogyny. One that no one seems to know or care about, and one for which women and girls are paying the price.
Artificial images, real life consequences
Over the course of eleven days in December 2025, Grok, Elon Muskâs artificial intelligence tool on X, generated three million sexualised images, including images of children, every one non-consensually. The software responded to users uploading photos of people and requesting AI to remove their clothes. During these eleven days, inappropriate images of children were created every 41 seconds. In the plainest sense, Grok was being utilised as a mass weapon of sexual abuse with barely any restrictions.
On January 9th, the AI tool was restricted to paying users and on the 14th of January, the ability to generate provocative images of real people using Grok was disabled. But the damage was already done. Three million images meant countless victims, mostly women and, quite horrifyingly, some being children.
âIt is an out-of-body experienceâ says Laura Bates, describing how it feels to discover there is a pornographic image of yourself âout thereâ that has been created without your knowledge or consent. There is a certain uniqueness to the emotional turmoil that must follow. Who created it? Someone you know? Who has seen it? Your classmates, your coworkers, your family? Will people think it is real? Can it ever fully be gotten rid of? Will this image follow you around forever? Could it even outlive you?
Pair this fear and shame felt by victims along with how simple, easy and often free digitally creating a sexualised image is, and it becomes clear that this is a crisis. Anyone who has your photo can theoretically now create pornographic content of you, facing practically no repercussions. Following the Grok incident in 2025, the UK police were unable to find and charge a single perpetrator, ultimately failing the victims of abuse.
These victims are almost always women; there is barely any demand to create similar content of men, to the extent that much of the software doesnât even work on images of men.
Not a victimless crime
The danger that accompanies this sort of abuse is that many will believe it isnât harmful because it isnât ârealâ. Once more, some argue that there is no need for consent. Hera Hussain, founder of Chayn (a global charity fighting gender-based violence), has labelled this the âempathy gapâ. The use of technology creates distance between the abuser and victim as well as a level of anonymity that counteracts accountability.
However, for victims of deepfake pornography, the effects in their everyday lives are very real. From the moment an image is created and shared, the featured person completely loses power: they will never fully be able to know or control who sees it or shares it further. Image-based abuse is yet another mechanism to silence, intimidate and control women within society.
There must be stricter regulations enacted upon AI technology â the ability to create such distressing content should not be within our reach, regardless of the advancements of artificial intelligence. Companies that provide the means to create deepfakes, such as X with Grok, and the people creating the content must be held legally accountable. This requires action from the government to ban deepfakes at every stage of production and sharing.
#Notyourporn is a campaign initiative fighting for exactly this â stronger laws to protect women and girls from image-based abuse. They are continuously working to solidify government policies to stop the production of deepfake pornography and ensure victims are given the justice they deserve.
With new technology arrives new dangers. It is time we advocate for the protection of women and girls from artificial intelligence and its malicious users, ending this new era of slut-shaming before it is too late.