AI Undressing Apps

The Hon. C. BONAROS (14:43): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Deputy Premier a question regarding AI-generated undressing apps.

Leave granted.

The Hon. C. BONAROS: An article featuring on news.com.au a little over a week ago entitled '"Kids are considering suicide": the terrifying new trend in Aussie schools' reports on the surge in popularity of apps that use AI to undress, nudify or generate a fake naked picture using an image of a fully clothed person. For some context, the article goes on to describe that you insert a picture of somebody in your class and the app will generate what that person looks like nude.

As Australian activist group Collective Shout identified and has cited again, these are apps that also willingly accept image prompts such as 'abused', 'beaten', 'bruised', 'raped' and 'crying'. Meanwhile, several apps have even offered users financial incentives to invite friends and trade nudified images.

While the federal government announced plans to restrict access to such apps in September, it has also refused to support a bill introduced by Independent federal MP Kate Chaney that would make it a criminal offence to download, access, supply or offer access to nudify apps. I understand the Australian government has committed to legislating a digital duty of care to prevent serious online harms, with consultation with the community ongoing until 7 December in the form of an online survey. My questions to the Attorney are, noting the great work that has been done in this jurisdiction:

1. Is he committed to tackling this issue at the next Standing Council of Attorneys-General to ensure all Australians are legislatively protected at a federal level from the harm such practices inflict on victims?

2. Will we ensure that our laws here are stringent enough to combat this latest trend?

3. Will the Deputy Premier undertake to raise the issues with the Minister for Education to establish how widespread its use is across our schools?

4. What is being done to address it?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Deputy Premier, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector, Special Minister of State) (14:45): I thank the honourable member very much for her question. I acknowledge she has done a lot of work in this area. We have worked very closely as a government with the Hon. Connie Bonaros in protecting children, particularly, with advances in technology, in ways that we legislatively and in terms of enforcement keep up with those advances in technology.

It's only a couple of weeks before the social media ban for children under the age of 16 comes into effect in Australia. This is a world-leading initiative that was started in South Australia with the report of former High Court judge Justice Robert French to the South Australian government. The work was then taken up by the federal government that now imposes the social media ban. The honourable member talked about the duty-of-care obligation in terms of these sorts of apps. The social media ban imposes that duty of care on the prescribed social media platforms to make sure that children are not accessing those. That is an example of South Australia leading the way in the world in terms of access to things that can be harmful for young people.

In relation to, 'Are we committed to looking at further ways to protect to keep up with changes?'—absolutely. I know that the assistant minister, the member for Florey, Michael Brown, who has specific responsibilities in terms of artificial intelligence, is looking at exactly those things, not just specific nudify-type apps but technology that can be used to create images that are not actual images, whether they be stills or videos.

I am more than happy to continue to put this on the national radar. The honourable member specifically asked about the Standing Council of Attorneys-General. I am happy to report that one initiative that we passed in this place—South Australia's leading work to shine a light nationally for all jurisdictions—is in terms of workplace protection orders. The Standing Council of Attorneys-General is taking that up and asked South Australia to provide some national work.

The member finally asked, 'Will I work with the Minister for Education?' Absolutely. Only two or three weeks ago, I visited a school with the Minister for Education, where one of the things we were specifically talking about and students talked about is the use of technology and the use of social media and some of the pitfalls and dangers.