Technology-facilitated child sexual abuse material (CSAM): New frontiers and challenges for justice systems

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics have resulted in new forms of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), raising urgent challenges for criminal justice, psychology, and computer science. Unlike conventional recorded (or live-streamed) CSAM, AI-generated or robotic representations typically do not depict an identifiable individual child victim. Nonetheless, AI-CSAM is not “victimless”, as it is likely trained on existing CSAM and may therefore embed traces of real abuse. This Briefing Paper discusses these issues to inform relevant professionals (e.g., law enforcement) about a rapidly-evolving and challenging child protection concern.