An employee at the US Department of Energy accidentally uploaded 187,000 pornographic images onto its network. These images were created using AI.
An employee at the US Department of Energy (DOE) violated regulations and uploaded 187,000 pornographic images to the DOE’s network. He said he suffered from long-term depression and planned to use the images for generative imaging tools. The DOE has called these images “robot pornography” because they were created using AI. The employee intended to use these images as data for AI tools.
Backed up pornographic images
404 Media reports that in March 2023, this employee backed up his personal pornographic images. He uploaded 187,000 of his photos to the DOE network using a computer provided by the DOE. Surprisingly, he remained unaware of his actions for six months. He only realised his mistake when questioned by DOE investigators. He stated that he believed his personal drive was separate from the DOE network and that his data would not affect government computers.
The employee said – I am being spied upon
When the DOE began investigating the matter, the employee counter-complained that he was being spied on. He described the investigation as akin to the “Spanish Inquisition,” meaning it was too harsh and unfair. He also said that he had tried to view the photos on his phone, but because of the small screen, he transferred them to his government computer. He said that the photos had been collected since the 1990s and he did not think it was wrong to keep them on an unclassified computer. He even called the DOE software spyware.
Access to nuclear secrets taken away
The judge acknowledged that the employee was unaware of his mistake, but that was not a sufficient excuse. He also stated that he was unaware that his data would be backed up on the DOE network. However, uploading such a large number of pornographic images was a serious mistake, for which he was held accountable. Following this incident, the employee’s access to Nuclear Secrets has been suspended.
