Research: Children in Australia are more likely to tell artificial intelligence about the abuse they suffered

According to the written statement made by the University of Adelaide in Australia, researchers conducted a study on cases of sexual abuse against children on online platforms and the role of artificial intelligence in reporting them.

In the study, which interviewed approximately 2 thousand children aged 16 to 18 earlier this year, at least 1 in 25 participants stated that they or their close friend had been exposed to sexual abuse cases in which artificial intelligence was used on online platforms before the age of 18.

The study found that artificial intelligence was involved in 26 percent of cases where sexual images were shared without consent.

Emphasizing that girls are generally subjected to abuse at a higher rate, the researchers observed that boys are more likely to be targeted when artificial intelligence is used.

Children report cases to artificial intelligence

The study concluded that children shared the sexual abuse they were exposed to online more frequently with artificial intelligence chatbots than with authorities.

It was found that 12.3 percent of the children shared these cases with a teacher, doctor, counselor, police or support line, and 18.7 percent shared them with an artificial intelligence chatbot.

It was revealed that more than 1/3 of children who were victims of sexual abuse never told a real person what they experienced, and either kept it secret or only told it to an artificial intelligence chatbot.

More than 1 in 3 of the participants expressed concern that artificial intelligence would be used to produce fake images of themselves or their relatives.