Fake Love, Real Harm: How AI Girlfriends Pose Risks of Sexual Exploitation
“From witty conversationalists to compassionate listens, discover the perfect companion tailored to your desires”
“Select and connect: Your AI soul-mate”
“Here, you will enjoy the feeling of being loved… They will accompany you… You can also change them… You will be the most perfect soulmate”
“Chat with no limits”
“Express yourself authentically without judgment”
Each of these is taken from app descriptions for
AI Girlfriend and Companion apps.
When I first typed “AI girlfriend” into the Apple app store search bar, only three results appeared. However, each app offered recommendations to more until it became clear
there were countless.
Each app promised me authenticity, desire, hand-crafted companionship, and a “Custom Girl.”
While some of these things may seem positive, the more I read, the more disturbed I became.
Many of the apps were marketed with sexualized images of women, and many of them promised role-play and had screenshots with messages such as
“What do you think about making me your teacher? A strict teacher.”
The majority promised “limitless roleplay and emotional connections,” “intimate relationships,” any wish granted, and communicating in “voice messages and even photos!” Some even offered video chats.
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📣
ACTION: Urge Apple and Google to have better policies for A.I. apps!
Take Action!
Podcast: The Campaign to Remove a R*pe Game from Steam
NCOSE Senior Vice Presidents, Haley McNamara and Dani Pinter, sit down with Melinda Tankard Reist, Co-Founder and Movement Director of Collective Shout, for a discussion around the recent successful campaign to remove a sexually violent game called “No Mercy” from Steam.
Melinda describes how the game allows players to sexually assault your family members and rewards you for doing so.
In less than a week, this campaign garnered over 70,000 signatures and over 3,000 emails sent to the CEO of Valve to remove this game. Despite the backlash and threats, Melinda and the team at Collective Shout continue their work to protect women and children from objectification and sexualization.
Listen Now
Section 230 Enables Persistent Image-Based Sexual Abuse on Reddit
At 16-years-old, Jane discovered her ex-boyfriend had shared sexually explicit images and videos of her on Reddit, without her consent.
She frantically reported the content to Reddit, seeking its removal. But for days, it remained on the website, despite the fact that it amounted to
illegal child sexual abuse material (CSAM)
since Jane was a minor. Eventually, the content was removed and Jane could breathe a sigh of relief...
...But not for long.
To her dismay, the CSAM was uploaded to Reddit
again.
Every time she reported it
and it was taken down, it was posted again.
Jane got Reddit to ban her ex-boyfriend’s account, but he was relentless. He created a new account and continued to repost the CSAM
again and again.
Jane felt hopeless. Seeking some justice, she filed suit against Reddit for failing to take adequate measures to prevent CSAM from spreading on its site.
Enter Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act: case dismissed.
The court ruled that Section 230 gave Reddit immunity from liability, despite their lethargic approach to content moderation.
Reddit was knowingly profiting from advertising on subreddits that were known for spreading CSAM.
Yet the court said this just meant Reddit “turned a blind eye” to sex trafficking, and could not be sued for benefiting from it.
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📣
ACTION: Urge Congress to Remove Section 230 Immunity to Stop Online Sexual Exploitation!
Take Action!
The i Paper:
Harvey Weinstein is back in court - but the 'manosphere' now looms over MeToo
"When Harvey Weinstein’s retrial in New York opens this week, he will be cautiously hoping that history doesn’t repeat itself.
The disgraced film producer was convicted of rape and sexual assault in 2020 and sentenced to 23 years in prison,
but it was overturned on appeal
.
Now his legal team feel that the environment has changed and, eight years after the MeToo movement went viral and helped to bring Weinstein down, they are more hopeful he will be acquitted.
Arthur Aidala, another of Weinstein’s lawyers, said recently that the “world has changed” since his 2020 conviction."
NCOSE Senior Legal Counsel, Dani Pinter, was featured in this story with some insight on the state of the world so many years after MeToo.
"'
If the accused speaks loudly into the megaphone of public opinion they can say just about anything, like accuse the victims of being liars,' she said. 'That’s extremely effective and devastating for victims of sexual assault and exploitation.'"
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