Johanna Villalobos denounces that she was a victim of ‘nudes’ through artificial intelligence

The Costa Rican journalist and broadcaster, Johanna Villalobos, denounced that strangers used artificial intelligence (AI) to “take off her clothes” through editing using artificial intelligence. That false image was distributed through WhatsApp chats and other digital platforms.

“Yesterday I received a message on my Instagram from a girl telling me how beautiful I looked in a photo. So I go in to see and it was a literal photo of me without clothes. When I saw the photo I said: ‘what is this?’”, the communicator recounted.

The follower explained that it was a photograph that was in an application, that it circulated through WhatsApp groups and that it was created with AI.

“I have been working in this media for 10 years, on radio, TV and social networks now. I am a graduated journalist and always, all my life, I have tried to be very careful because my work interests me a lot and I want to continue living from this, “said Villalobos, later emphasizing that he has never sent a photo of this type to anyone.

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Those or whoever is behind the edition used a photograph that the presenter herself published on her social networks, when she was on the beach, so in the original image she wears a green bathing suit. In fact she —according to her she said— she uploaded the photo two months ago, but in the last week she noticed that she had more movement than usual.

“At first it was a shock for me, clearly I am very upset, but it is that nothing can be done (…). All I want to say is that if you are part of those teachers If you are in that application or this photo is being shared in WhatsApp groups, you really have problems,” Villalobos asserted.

The journalist assured that she feels anger and impotence, but that the only comfort she has left is knowing that it is not her body and that it is created by the AI. “I’m not going to be the first tic that this is happening to, we’re all going to go in line because this is going to get out of control,” she concluded.

The nudes or nude photos are distributed without the consent of the person appearing in the image. The criminal lawyer Federico Campos clarified that it’s a crime, whether or not the images are real.

“In the case of images produced by AI, there can be a very fine line between reality and what is not, since whoever receives or observes an image does not know what is artificial and what is real; in such a way that any human representation, for example a nude, could confuse public opinion and affect the image, privacy and reputation of a person”, explained the lawyer.

According to Campos, although the legislation in Costa Rica “is omissive in many aspects and should be legislated according to the needs derived from technological development,” there are legal consequences for those who create or disseminate this type of content without consent.

“It can be part of a behavior of cyber bullying (crime of coercion) or damage to honor (crime of defamation); as well as generate responsibility for the damages and losses caused to the person, either through real images or created with AI, ”explained the lawyer.

Regarding the first crime mentioned by the lawyer, article 193 of the Penal Code establishes that: “Whoever, by means of a serious threat or physical or moral violence, compels a person to do, not do or tolerate something to which he is not obliged.

While for the crime of defamation, the perpetrator “will be punished with a fine of 20 to 60 days in which he dishonors another or spreads suitable species to affect his reputation,” according to article 146.

According to digital strategist Kevin Vilchez, AI is a tool that makes many tasks easier for us on a daily basis. Nevertheless, it also has its downside.

Vilchez assured that AI has been around us for several years; However, until now it is a topic of conversation due to the fame it gained by showing its negative effects, like the one used in the photo of the journalist.

Given the question: how is an application capable of undressing a person? Vilchez responded that these systems work with an algorithm, which takes the original photo, removes the clothing from it, and creates intimate parts proportional to the body of the image.

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