AI-powered digital violence: Millions of women targeted by deepfakes

By Ahmet Taş | Wise News Press

NEW YORK, US — The rapid and unregulated development of artificial intelligence technology is fueling a predatory "AI-undressing" industry that is devastating the lives of hundreds of thousands of young women worldwide through "digital rape."

According to a comprehensive investigation published by Wired Magazine, ordinary social media photos, such as high school selfies, are being transformed into hyper-realistic explicit images in seconds using AI-powered "nudification" services. This growing epidemic of digital violence has evolved into a multi-million dollar illegal business model, thriving on legal loopholes and the infrastructure provided by global technology giants.

Tech giants' role in the deepfake economy

Data from the research group Indicator reveals the extent to which major technology corporations are—wittingly or unwittingly—providing the essential infrastructure for this illegal industry. An analysis of the top 85 websites specializing in explicit deepfakes found that:

• 62 sites utilize cloud hosting services from giants such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Cloudflare.

  
  

• 54 platforms allow users to log in directly via Google accounts, simplifying access to predatory tools.

  
  

Experts describe this as a peak level of cynicism, as corporations that publicly champion child safety and digital ethics simultaneously provide the technical keys to the operators of harmful porn-bots. The industry is conservatively estimated to generate approximately $36 million annually, though experts believe the true figure is significantly higher as legislation fails to keep pace with the speed of code.

Professionalizing digital harassment

Deepfake expert Henry Ajder notes that these platforms are no longer amateur side-projects but professionalized illegal businesses. While tech giants often claim to block violators, these services use sophisticated "bridge pages" to bypass moderation. When a Google moderator checks a link, they see a harmless landing page; however, once a user clicks "log in," they are funneled into a deep web of non-consensual explicit content.

Alexios Mantzarlis of Indicator refers to this as the "liberal Silicon Valley approach to AI." In practice, this means tech companies provide the tools and hosting without taking responsibility for how they are used—whether to "cut bread or harm a neighbor"—as long as the hosting fees are paid.

Legislative response and corporate responsibility

In recent months, some legal steps have been taken to combat this form of digital violence. US President Donald Trump signed the "Take It Down" Act in May, while the United Kingdom has moved to fully criminalize the creation of non-consensual deepfake content. However, experts warn that the law is consistently slower than the algorithms.

The investigation emphasizes that the problem is not merely that AI has "learned" to undress individuals, but that a digital economy has been built where the humiliation of a woman is priced at a $9.99 subscription fee. Until technology giants are held accountable for the "digital filth" they host and facilitate, every individual remains a potential target in the crosshairs of unregulated artificial intelligence.

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