Jenna Ortega, the 21-year-old star of “Wednesday,” recently shared her unsettling experiences with artificial intelligence and social media. In an interview with The New York Times, Ortega shared how she left Twitter, now known as X, at the age of 14 due to disturbing encounters with AI content. Ortega shared her dislike of AI while acknowledging its abuses and use.
“I hate AI,” Ortega said. Ortega’s first encounter with the negative aspects of AI was in her childhood. She shared that she has come across explicit images of herself created by AI on the internet. This disturbing finding made her decide to delete her Twitter account. The actor said she felt “terrified” and “corrupted” as she shared how the experience left her feeling vulnerable and unprotected on social media.
Actor shares first encounter with explicit content in direct messages
“Did I like being 14 and making a Twitter account because I was supposed to and seeing dirty edited content of me as a child? No. It’s terrifying. It’s corrupt. It’s wrong,” Ortega stated.
Ortega’s issues with social media extended beyond AI. She said that the very first direct message that she ever opened had explicit content, which is when she started experiencing abuse on this website. Her experiences actually depict some of the challenges that young people face on social media platforms, and this calls for improved protection and moderation.
Ortega decided to quit Twitter (now X) because he wanted to get away from such incidents. She stated that it is impossible for her to discuss anything on the site without running into something that is indecent. Her decision to leave the social media platform was based on personal reasons to do with her mental health.
During the same interview, Ortega also talked about the recent scandal that surrounded her latest movie, Miller’s Girl, which depicts intimate scenes between Ortega’s character and Martin Freeman’s character. The erotic thriller, which portrays a sexual relationship between an 18-year-old high school student and her teacher, has caused controversy on social networks. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Ortega stood up for the film, saying that the movie is not meant to make the audience feel good or comfortable.
AI-generated sexual harassment incidents rise
Over the past few years, there has been an uptick in the cases of explicit content using artificial intelligence. In September 2023, a case of grooming of over 20 girls aged between 11 and 17 was reported from a town in southern Spain through the use of AI pornography.
Recently, Steven Anderegg, 42, from Wisconsin, has been charged with producing more than 10,000 images of child sexually exploitative material using artificial intelligence. As reported by the police, Anderegg employed the Stable Diffusion AI model to create hyperrealistic images, including the ones with child sexual abuse. The indictment said that Anderegg shared some AI-created images with a 15-year-old boy through the social media platform Instagram.