The story centers around Sanchi, a homemaker from Assam, whose likeness was manipulated to create a provocative AI-generated persona named Babydoll Archi, managed by her ex-boyfriend, Pratim Bora. Following a police investigation spurred by Sanchi's family, Bora was arrested for cyber crimes including identity theft and sexual harassment.
Indian Woman's Identity Misused for Provocative AI Content in Deepfake Scandal
Indian Woman's Identity Misused for Provocative AI Content in Deepfake Scandal
A distressing case has emerged in India where a homemaker’s identity was appropriated for a fake Instagram account featuring explicit content, leading to widespread social media outrage.
An alarming incident has surfaced in India where the identity of a homemaker was appropriated for a controversial Instagram account that featured erotic content generated through artificial intelligence. The account, dubbed "Babydoll Archi", seemingly took the internet by storm, quickly amassing a following of 1.4 million. This surge in popularity stemmed partly from viral videos and photos that captured a fashionably seductive persona, although it was later revealed that no real individual, except for the woman whose likeness was exploited, existed behind the account.
The story began to unfold after Sanchi, a resident of Dibrugarh, Assam, found herself at the center of an unexpected scandal. Her brother filed a police complaint when the family stumbled upon the dubious account that used Sanchi's images without consent. Pratim Bora, Sanchi's ex-boyfriend and a self-taught enthusiast in artificial intelligence, was subsequently arrested. Authorities discovered that Bora had manipulated Sanchi's private photos to create a false online identity under the guise of Babydoll Archi, which began its online presence in 2020. Police officer Sizal Agarwal indicated that Bora's motivations stemmed from a vendetta against Sanchi.
According to police reports, Bora crafted a convincing AI representation of Sanchi and utilized online tools like ChatGPT to generate deepfake videos and pictures targeting violent fantasies rather than any participatory element from Sanchi. After the family’s complaint on July 11, police sought help from Instagram to identify the account’s owner, ultimately leading them to Bora’s location and subsequent capture. Authorities have since arrested him and seized multiple devices and financial documents linked to the monetization of the false account, which reportedly earned him nearly 1 million rupees over a brief five-day period.
While the Instagram page of Babydoll Archi has reportedly been taken down, copies of the explicit content continue to circulate widely across various social media networks. For Sanchi and her family, this ordeal has been exceptionally distressing, prompting them to seek professional counseling to handle the fallout.
Experts, like Meghna Bal, have voiced their concerns over the inevitability of such incidents, marking it as a dreadful reality increasingly facilitated by advances in technology. Bal noted that while victims can pursue legal action under existing laws, eliminating every trace of digital exploitation is a near-impossible feat. The case has prompted discussions about the adequacy of legal frameworks in combating identity theft and digital harassment, suggesting that more robust measures may be necessary to protect individuals from sophisticated technology misuse while balancing free speech considerations.
The horrifying implications of this scenario have spurred public outcry and calls for stricter laws to handle deepfake and identity theft cases, especially ones involving explicit content. If convicted, Bora faces a potential prison sentence of up to 10 years, a measure seen as needed to deter similar attempts at vengeance-driven identity theft and manipulation.
