A judge sentenced a British man to 18 years in prison Friday for using artificial intelligence (AI) to create images of children being physically and sexually abused. Hugh Nelson, 27, had pleaded guilty to a number of sexual offenses including making and distributing indecent images of children and distributing “indecent pseudo photographs of children.” He also admitted to promoting child rape, AP reported.
Nelson created his images from the photographs of real children that he paid clients, whom he met on the internet in an online chat room, to send him. Police in Manchester said he used Daz 3D AI software to distort the pictures and create the imagery that he sold for as much as £5,000 or sometimes just gave away, the Daily Mail reported.
Daz 3D said in a statement that Nelson violated his licensing agreement with the company and that it “condemn[s] the misuse of any software, including ours, for such purposes, and we are committed to continuously improving our ability to prevent it,” according to AP.
Judge Martin Walsh said it is impossible to know whether Nelson’s work directly or indirectly contributed to the sexual abuse of any child but that it was certainly the man’s intention to do just that and at very least he had “no idea” how his imagery would be used by others, AP noted. Nelson said he got the idea of using AI for this purpose by meeting other pedophiles on the internet and sharing ideas.
Prosecutor Jeanette Smith expressed her disgust that Nelson could “take normal photographs of children and, using AI tools and a computer program, transform them and create images of the most depraved nature to sell and share online.”
Nelson described himself as an aspiring filmmaker who confessed to having a “warped mind” even as he claimed he was performing a “valuable service” with his work. Camera footage supplied to the court showed his confession to police detectives as he acknowledged his behavior could be described as “absolutely grotesque,” the Mail noted.
Nelson also told police, "I fell into this pit of despair and absolute grotesque behaviour, and it just spiralled and just got worse." In another segment, he confessed, "I am sexually attracted to kids. I've been completely swept up in it, it's taken over my life."
The convict listed the number of degrading acts he could provide to clients that included “beatings, smotherings, hangings, drownings, beheadings, necro, beast, the list goes on.” Walsh said in sentencing Nelson: “These harrowing and sickening images were forwarded by you for financial gain. So far as you were concerned the undercover officer was just another anonymous customer.”
