The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) identified 8,029 AI-generated images and videos of realistic child sexual abuse last year
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Record levels of “dangerous” AI child sexual abuse imagery are being discovered online, as a safety watchdog reports a 14 per cent surge in criminal content in 2025.
The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) identified 8,029 AI-generated images and videos of realistic child sexual abuse last year, the majority of the videos found by the safety watchdog are classified as the most severe types of content.
A report published on Tuesday reveals the full scale of AI-generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM) online, as well as the kind of offender conversations analysts are observing as criminals vie to create more and more lifelike and extreme child sexual abuse scenarios.
One offender quoted in the report notes their surprise at "how uncensored" the technology is.
Another said they are "impressed with the results of [AI] image to video conversions" and went on to say that they want to use hidden cameras to obtain footage of real children to convert into AI videos.
There were also conversations about setting up and using hidden cameras to source still footage of real children to transform into AI content.
Concerns have also been raised about developments in the technology that will allow for AI-generated child sexual abuse material to have an audio component, in which audio recordings that include a synthetically generated sexualised voice of a child.
IWF Senior Analyst Natalia said: “It is very apparent from the unsettling dark web conversations observed by the IWF Hotline that AI innovations are regarded with delight by users of child sexual abuse material.
“Every new development in generative AI is extolled for its ability to enhance the realism, to heighten the severity, or make more immersive, any conceivable sexual scenario with a child.
"This could be through adding audio to video, being able to depict multiple people interacting or even being able to successfully manipulate imagery of a real child known to an offender.
“Instead of being a vehicle for connection, the technology only deepens offenders’ capacity to view children and victims as abstract playthings, whose likenesses can be altered endlessly for their own enjoyment.
“We know this affects victims and survivors, as its creation and distribution is just as keenly felt as with traditional forms of child sexual abuse.”
The IWF is calling on the UK government to tighten up laws around AI and make it harder for criminals to abuse AI image generators to create CSAM.
New polling by Savanta found that 82 per cent of UK adults say the government should introduce regulation to ensure AI systems are safe by design and futureproofed from causing harm.
A further 78 per cent said that AI companies should be made to test for harms before their products are released to the market.
Helen Rance, Deputy Director of CSA threat at the National Crime Agency said: “AI generated child sexual abuse material is illegal. It harms children. And it fuels and escalates offending. Alongside policing colleagues, we are arresting nearly 1,000 offenders and safeguarding over 1,200 children every month in relation to online sexual abuse.
"Offenders should be under no illusion that they will be caught and the consequences for them and their families will be life changing.
“However, policing cannot tackle AI CSAM alone. We need industry around the world to invest its money, expertise and innovation in stopping this harm at source.
"We need to keep investing in the tools that help policing protect children at scale. And we need to equip children, parents, carers and professionals with the confidence and skills to navigate the challenges that AI brings.
“We welcome this important report from IWF and will continue to work with them and other partners to disrupt this evolving ecosystem and keep children safe.”