AI vigilante trap snares alleged paedophile ex-teacher in France - BBC

A retired French sports teacher, Dominique B, was taken into custody after engaging in online sexual propositions with what he believed to be a 14-year-old girl. The 'girl' was, in fact, an AI-generated face and voice operated by an influencer known as FINNYZYY, who specializes in entrapping suspected pedophiles.

What happened

FINNYZYY used an AI-generated face and voice of a girl to engage Dominique B in a 40-minute online chat, broadcast live to over 40,000 viewers and subsequently viewed around a million times. During the conversation, Dominique B suggested meeting the 'girl' and made sexually suggestive remarks. The influencer's visual alteration was not perfect, but it was sufficient to deceive the retired teacher. Dominique B turned himself in to police after being recognized by viewers who alerted a French online content reporting platform. He faces charges of making sexual advances to a minor and soliciting images of a minor for pornographic purposes. The incident has sparked debate about the ethics of such entrapment methods, with some questioning whether the influencer's actions could disrupt genuine police investigations.