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‘Turbocharged’: How AI is Fuelling School Bullying

The Courier-Mail

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A cyber safety squad run by the Education Department has dealt with 40 concerning incidents of schools bullies using artificial intelligence “deepfakes” to terrorise other children since the start of 2025.

Summary

Deepfake technology is significantly escalating school-based harassment, with the Queensland Education Department’s cyber safety unit reporting 40 serious incidents since early 2025. These developments highlight the rapid proliferation of frontier AI image-generation tools and their misuse in creating harmful, non-consensual content among minors. While the article focuses on societal and child safety harms rather than existential risks, it underscores the urgent need for robust state-level governance and educational frameworks to manage the immediate risks of synthetic media. This localized Australian context reflects a growing global challenge for policy regulators in mitigating the downstream harms of advanced AI capabilities.

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‘Turbocharged’: How AI is fuelling school bullyingA cyber safety squad run by the Education Department has dealt with 40 concerning incidents of schools bullies using artificial intelligence “deepfakes” to terrorise other children since the start of 2025. Sale now on Unlock this story and more with your subscription Full Digital Access What’s included Unlimited articles on app & web Subscriber-exclusive newsletters A digital version of Today’s paper Enjoy puzzles SuperCoach Plus stats & analysis while playing LIMITED TIME OFFER Pay As You Go No lock-in contract $1 for 1 monthThen $35 charged monthly.* *Read the fine print Full Digital Access $1 charged for a duration of 1 month, after which it automatically renews at $35 charged monthly. Renewals occur unless cancelled as per full Terms and Conditions. Each payment, once made, is non-refundable, subject to law. Not in conjunction with any other offer. New customers only. Prices after any early discounted periods may be varied as per full Terms and Conditions. See www.couriermail.com.au/subscriptionterms for full details. 12 Month Plan Lock in & save $5 a week for 12 months($260 min. cost) charged as $20 every 4 weeks. Then $20 charged every 4 weeks.* *Read the fine print Full Digital Access 12 Month Plan costs $260 (min. cost) for the first 12 months, charged as $20 every 4 weeks. This automatically renews after the first 12 months to be charged as $20 (min. cost) every 4 weeks. Renewals occur unless cancelled as per full Terms and Conditions. No cancellations during the first 12 months. Each payment, once made, is non-refundable, subject to law. Not in conjunction with any other offer. Prices after the first 12 months may be varied as per full Terms and Conditions. See www.couriermail.com.au/subscriptionterms for full details. Read every article Full app & web access 24/7 Today’s paper Read the paper online exactly as it was printed Newsletters Subscriber exclusive news emails straight to your inbox News from our network Enjoy access to 11 of our news sites (exc. The Australian) Read every article Full app & web access 24/7 Today’s paper Read the paper online exactly as it was printed Newsletters Subscriber exclusive news emails straight to your inbox News from our network Enjoy access to 11 of our news sites (exc. The Australian) Subscribe Other subscription options Print + Digital Subscriptions Corporate Subscriptions Your Selection: $0 Your Selection – Change selection Today’s Total $0 Read the fine print Terms and Conditions Sorry, we are unable to process your request at this time. Please try again later.