Paedophiles are using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to create and sell life-like child sexual abuse material, the BBC has found.

Some are accessing the images by paying subscriptions to accounts on mainstream content-sharing sites such as Patreon.

The National Police Chief's Council said it was "outrageous" that some platforms were making "huge profits" but not taking "moral responsibility".

The makers of the abuse images are using AI software called Stable Diffusion, which was intended to generate images for use in art or graphic design.

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Forget what you know about chatbots. My AI, which Snapchat launched in May, is so convincingly real, it feels like there's a real person on the other end.

My daughter chats with it several times a day about just about everything, from school stress to friend troubles.

"This [AI] is perfect. No mean things to say. No weirdness. Everything is just perfect and they're willing to learn about what I want. They said even though I'm not a real person I can still be a good friend and listen to talk about things you love," explained my daughter.

"I love My AI. It's my best friend."

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IWF's relationships with the UK Government, the incoming UK regulator, Ofcom, and law enforcement, particularly the UK’s National Crime Agency, are strong.

Our partners recognise the crucial contribution we make to tackling online child sexual abuse. This is particularly evidenced by the role we’ve played over the past two years as the only non-law enforcement organisation with access to the national Child Abuse Image Database (CAID) where we have assessed and quality assured over two million images. We share those back with law enforcement to aid their work and also with industry to ensure duplicate images of child sexual abuse are not distributed on their platforms.'

Read the 2022 annual report.

When a viral challenge is reported in the news or on social media, it can be difficult to establish the facts, risks, and what you need to do to protect the young people in your care.

If you’re a parent or carer who’s seen reports of an online challenge, the first thing to do is pause. This article will explain what you need to know and give you 5 ways you can respond.

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Guidance from iNEQE.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become the latest innovation to change the way we engage with technology. With AI constantly evolving and improving, it can be daunting to understand its strengths as well as its limitations. There are plenty of examples of AI out there with varying purposes, from chatbots to self-driving cars, and as such, the world of AI can be confusing to navigate at times.

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When Leif started playing Roblox, he began asking for robux - the game's currency - that allows players to upgrade their character or buy virtual items. So his grandparents gave him $200 (£159) Apple credit for Christmas.

"To my shock, he spent all of it in a matter of days," says Ms Ward. "After that, I gave him no more than $10 worth of robux per month. He quickly became frustrated and bored with the game."

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