Glasgow man uses AI to create nude deepfakes of Instagram photos posted by former school friend, sends them to his contacts

Summary

Callum Brooks, 25, of Easterhouse, Glasgow, used AI software to alter two photographs taken from the Instagram account of a woman he had known since high school, creating nude deepfake images of her without her knowledge or consent. Both original photos were posted by the woman on June 24, 2022. Brooks sent the altered images to two of his friends. The woman — identified publicly as 'Sophie' — was unaware of the images until February 2024, when one of Brooks's friends showed them to her. She described feeling 'immediately embarrassed and humiliated,' fearing the images had been uploaded online and could be found by searching her name. Brooks claimed no sexual motive, which the Crown accepted. He pleaded guilty at Glasgow Sheriff Court to disclosing a photograph in an intimate situation without consent, in one of Scotland's first convictions for AI-generated intimate image abuse, and was fined £335. Sophie subsequently called for stronger legislation specifically targeting the creation of deepfake intimate images.