New chatbot goes online to fight image-based abuse - RMIT University

Image-based abuse – when someone takes, shares or threatens to share nude, semi-nude or sexual images or video without consent – has become a growing issue, experienced by 1 in 3 Australians surveyed in 2019. Lead researcher behind the creation of'Umibot', Professor Nicola Henry from RMIT's Social and Global Studies Centre, said'deepfake' content (fake videos or images generated using AI), incidents where people are pressured into creating sexual content and being sent unsolicited sexual images or videos also count as image-based abuse. "It's a huge violation of trust that's designed to shame, punish or humiliate. It's often a way for perpetrators to exert power and control over others," said Henry, who is an Australian Research Council Future Fellow. "A lot of victim-survivors we talked to just want the issue to go away and the content to be taken down or removed but often they don't know where to go for help."