Men are more than twice as likely as women to report being targeted by AI-generated intimate images, according to a new international study. The research was led by Australia’s RMIT University with funding from Google.
The survey covered more than 7,200 adults in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. It found that 7% had experienced at least one form of AI-generated image-based abuse since turning 18, or about one in 15 adults.
The findings were published in the International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction. Professor Nicola Henry of RMIT was the lead author.
What the Study Measured
The study looked at three types of abuse. These were having an intimate image created or altered with AI without consent, having such an image shared without consent, and being threatened with the sharing of one.
Almost 87% of people who experienced the abuse reported at least one impact on their lives. These included effects on their health and wellbeing, relationships, work or finances.
“We now have evidence of how widely AI-generated image-based abuse is affecting people across the community, not just celebrities and public figures,” Henry said. She added that the true scale may be greater because some people may never know such images of them exist.
Men Report More Abuse, Women Report More Harm
Men reported the abuse at a rate of 10.2%, compared with 3.8% for women. Higher rates were also reported by people under 35, people from racial and ethnic minority backgrounds, and people with disability.
However, women reported more negative reactions and impacts. These included fear for their safety and effects on their mental and physical health.
The researchers said this may reflect wider gender inequalities, stigma and safety risks that women face more often. Henry said anyone can be affected, but the risk and the consequences are not evenly spread.
“As generative AI becomes more widely available, there is greater potential for these tools to be misused to create, share or threaten to share intimate images without consent,” she said. “What we don’t yet know is how quickly that is translating into increased victimization.”
The new paper builds on two earlier studies that used the same international dataset. One found that 3.2% of respondents reported creating, sharing or threatening to share AI-generated sexual images without consent.
Among those who shared the material, the most common reason given was “for fun or as a joke.” Another study found that almost one in five adults had deliberately viewed AI-generated sexual images of real people, not counting those who did so only to report or remove them.
Henry said the results support placing more responsibility on technology companies to stop the abuse before it happens. She pointed to Australia’s proposed digital duty of care, which would require online services to prevent foreseeable harm.
“But regulation and new laws are not enough,” she said. She called for better education, accessible support for victim-survivors, and safety built into AI tools and apps from the start.
Co-author Dr Rebecca Umbach, a Staff User Experience Researcher at Google, said knowing who is affected and how is key to designing better prevention. She said research that combines academic and technology-sector expertise can show where interventions are most needed.
Henry said RMIT has worked with Google researchers for a long time to find where industry-wide prevention efforts are most needed. The international team is continuing its research, and the program was funded by Google.
