Washington’s Lottery Shuts Down AI App After It Generated Topless Photo of User
The State of Washington’s Lottery has shut down an AI-powered web app after a 50-year-old woman reported that the site generated a topless photo of her.
Last month, Washington’s Lottery launched the app “Test Drive a Win” site which invited people to take or upload selfies. The web app then used generative AI to create images of them on fantasy vacations that they could visit for real if they won the lottery.
According to Adage, the app launched in early March, as part of a campaign from VML Seattle, and ran for a month without incident.
However, last week, a “Test Drive a Win” user said that the AI-powered web app returned a pornographic image that superimposed her head on a mostly naked body.
‘I Was Completely Shocked’
Megan, who describes herself as a 50-year-old mother from Tumwater, Washington, tells host Jason Rantz on Seattle radio station KTTH, that she took a photo of herself and uploaded it to the “Test Drive a Win” site. She then asked the website to generate an image of her swimming with sharks on her dream vacation.
But Megan, who did not provide her last name to KTTH, says she was shocked when the web app generated an image of a woman with her face sitting on a bed with her breasts exposed.
Megan submitted the AI-generated image to KTTH, which published a censored version of the picture, and called for “whoever was responsible” to be fired.
“Our tax dollars are paying for that! I was completely shocked. It’s disturbing to say the least,” Megan tells Rantz on KTTH.
The AI-generated image that Megan submitted appears to show a nude woman atop a bed in an aquarium, with fish swimming through the air and sprawling undersea flora sitting behind the pillows. Furthermore, the AI-generated image has the Washington Lottery’s logo on the bottom right-hand corner.
‘One User is Too Many’
After Megan reported the pornographic image to the radio station, Washington’s Lottery responded by shutting down the “Test Drive a Win” website.
“Prior to launch, we worked closely with the developers of the AI platform to establish strict parameters to govern image creation,” Washington Lottery says in a statement.
“We were made aware that a single user of the AI platform was purportedly provided an image that did not adhere to those guidelines.
“This campaign was launched more than a month ago and has had thousands of images created that all fall within the prescribed guidelines. Regardless, one purported user is too many, and as a result we have shut down the site.”
This incident is part of a growing crisis online, where pornographic images of women are becoming widely available due easily accessible AI tools.
Image credits: Header photo via Washington’s Lottery
