A UK man who used artificial intelligence to create child sexual abuse material (CSAM) has been jailed for 18 years, . Hugh Nelson, 27, created the images using photographs of real children, which were then manipulated by AI. Nelson was convicted of 16 counts of child sexual abuse in August after a lengthy police investigation. This was the first prosecution of its kind in the UK.

Nelson used modeling software called Daz 3D to produce the disgusting images. The program has a suite of AI tools, which it used to turn ordinary photos of children into CSAM. Greater Manchester Police said he sold these images online and was even commissioned in several cases to create specific CSAM items using photographs of real children. Police say Nelson made around $6,500 selling the images online.

He was caught trying to sell images to an undercover cop in a chat room. “I’ve done beatings, suffocations, hangings, drownings, beheadings, necros, beasts, the list goes on,” Nelson told the cop to attract a sale. This shows a transcript of a conversation provided by the prosecution.

It is worth noting that Daz 3D does not create deepfakes, where a face is swapped onto another body. Nelson created real 3D renderings by feeding photos to the AI ​​algorithm.

In sentencing, the judge called the images “disturbing and sickening” and specifically addressed Nelson, saying “there seems to be no limit to the depth of depravity exposed in the images you were prepared to create and display to others “. He also said it was “impossible to know” whether children had been abused as a result of the images. Police searches of Nelson’s devices found a series of text messages in which he encouraged people to sexually abuse children under the age of 13. These suspects and potential victims are said to be located around the world, including the US.

The United States, of course, is not immune to this chilling trend. He was a soldier because it would have used AI to generate CSAM. A Wisconsin man faces 70 years in prison for allegedly depicting CSAM. The world’s leading AI companies to help stop this type of software from being used to generate child sexual abuse material.