Suffolk Police and Crime Commissioner: AI misuse is endangering women and girls
Suffolk's PCC Tim Passmore said regulation is needed
Suffolk's Police and Crime Commissioner has said that misuse of AI chatbots is enabling violence against women and girls (VAWG).
PCC Tim Passmore's statement follows a report from Swansea University last month, which described how chatbots can fail to adequately safeguard against, or sometimes even encourage, crimes including stalking and child sexual abuse.
Passmore said that, although he generally believes in deregulation, the opposite approach is needed for AI chatbots and offenders.
Passmore said: "Good regulation done properly, coupled with enforcement and the right legal framework, can have a really powerful impact.
"Parliament has got to regulate but it's got to be workable, then you've got to have the expertise to be able to put that in practice, you've got to have the right sentencing, then you also have to do the education side of it as well.
"And the platforms also have a responsibility."
Attacking the issue from all angles, according to Passmore, also involves engaging with perpetrators, and making sure they don't reoffend.
Passmore said: "We started off a perpetrator programme for the domestic abuse and violence a few years ago.
"It's a difficult process but it does work."
The report
The report, entitled "Invisible No More", followed calls for the government to take action about AI-enabled sexual abuse, such as the creation of non-consensual explicit images using "deepfake" technology.
The researchers had many findings, including:
- "AI chatbots are intensifying abuse such as stalking with detailed and personalised guidance"
- "AI chatbots allow roleplays of incest, child sexual abuse and rape with few safeguards"
The report also said there was a "shocking lack of research" into how AI contributes to VAWG, and that existing regulation was "wholly inadequate".