- AI-based nudification applications can be used to turn images of clothed people easily into naked pictures.
- Kevin R. B. Butler and a team of researchers are investigating the ways internet forums disseminate the resources and knowledge that drive illegal image distribution.
- Butler hopes to help identify perpetrators and slow proliferation of this harmful content.
As Domestic Violence Awareness Month comes to a close this week, one University of Florida researcher is examining the roots of nudification apps, online platforms that use AI to turn images of clothed people — easily and convincingly — into nude images.
“There’s a strong link between nonconsensual intimate imagery and domestic violence,” said Kevin R. B. Butler, Ph.D.
There have been legislative and legal responses to the creation and distribution of these images, which are more correctly known as synthetic non-consensual intimate imagery, or SNCII. In the United States, the TAKE IT DOWN Act was passed in 2025, criminalizing the creation and distribution of such imagery and making it easier to remove once posted.
“Real or synthetic imagery can be used to threaten exposure, known as ‘sextortion,’” Butler said. “This type of imagery can be used to prevent a partner from leaving, reporting violence or seeking custody of children because of the perceived reputational harm.”
In his latest research project, Butler is examining the problem at its root: the tools and communities that produce these nonconsensual images.