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New research finds teens are making sexual deepfakes of people they know

Our teen survey finds that sexual deepfakes often involve friends, exes, and classmates.
Child holding phone with pixelated image

By Geoffrey A. Fowler

 

Teens aren’t just seeing AI sexual content—some are making it of their friends, exes, and classmates. AI has made a severe form of sexual harassment easy enough for almost any kid with a phone to carry out.

 

The Institute’s new nationally representative survey shows how sexual deepfakes have entered teen

life. Among 1,314 U.S. teens ages 13 to 17, 44% said they had seen fake nudes and other sexualized AI imagery. Nearly one in five said they had made it or knew someone who had. Among that group, nearly two-thirds said the images involved people they knew personally.

 

Teens are also worried: Two-thirds said they were concerned about being depicted in AI-generated sexual content without their consent. Yet only 20% had discussed the issue with a trusted adult.

 

Read our story about the survey and why it matters, and download the whole report here.