The rise of generative AI software from an obscure novelty to a tool used by millions has had a profound impact on the internet, drowning web search results in garbled slop, unleashing a flood of disturbing AI porn, and upending digital media as a reliable news source.Of course, it’s also had some unintended consequences. One of the nastiest yet: using AI to fuel racist conspiracy theories, putting minorities and immigrants in danger.Recent reporting by The Times found that anti-immigration protests are being stirred up by social media users sharing outrageously bigoted AI images depicting hoards of Arab immigrants taking over the streets of London.While extreme rhetoric by high-profile agitators is often responsible for setting off reactionary demonstrations, The Times found that participants are first being whipped into a frenzy by social media algorithms that promote racism and misinformation.In the United Kingdom, where Islamophobia is rampant, such posts typically feature a fragile Caucasian victim, like a child or a young girl, flanked by a menacing mob of minorities. Generally clad in a national flag like the Union Jack, the victim of these fake scenarios is almost always sobbing as vicious racial stereotypes jeer.Other AI content overtly celebrates the kind of racism that was once relegated to the dark corners of the internet, depicting strong, white European men standing up for their nation, national landmarks, or even a pair of kittens.We won’t subject you to the vile images here, but if you’re curious, you can check out British academic research that includes some of them here. (Needless to say, they’re extremely distasteful.)The content comes alongside an uptick in anti-immigrant and Islamophobic hate crimes in the UK, as racism becomes normalized across the country.In 2024, assaults motivated by Islamophobia increased by 73 percent across the UK, while some 1,188 racially-motivated hate crimes occurred in British-controlled Northern Ireland, compared to 349 the year prior.Organized racism is likewise on the rise, embodied by an outpouring of anti-immigrant protests and rhetoric across the UK. Last weekend, a violent crowd of over 100,000 anti-immigrant protestors surged through London, injuring over two dozen people, according to France 24.“When biased generative-AI-created images spread online, they don’t just reinforce prejudice, they can inspire violence by positioning white western men as righteous defenders of their communities and families,” Beatriz Buarque, a politics and social media researcher at the London School of Economics told The Times.In a survey of hundreds of race-baiting social media posts submitted to the UK parliament, Buarque and her fellow researchers found that, though AI-generated slop makes up a small portion of the vitriol, its average view count was over three times higher than the typical organic post. In other words, generative AI is being used to significantly increase the viral reach of racist content.With so much engagement to be farmed on both sides, it seems social media companies are happy to let the avalanche of racist AI slop continue — consequences be damned.More on Gen AI: OpenAI’s Sora Has a Small Problem With Being Hugely Racist and SexistThe post Racists Are Using AI to Spread Diabolical Anti-Immigrant Slop appeared first on Futurism.